RECAP: WEEKEND DANISH ACTION David Smith - Monday, September 28, 2009
Something was rotten in the state of Denmark as all yanks found their teams on the wrong side of the scoreline and themselves, in many cases, glued to the bench.
Esbjerg fB 3 - 2 AGF Aarhus
Benny Feilhaber went the distance in Aarhus' midfield and Jeremiah White saw time as a late substitute, however forced to play the entire second half a man down the team was unable to hold their own against league leaders Esbjerg fB on Monday night.
Aarhus knew heading into Monday night's game that they faced a tough challenge to halt their two-game losing streak, and were put into the unusual position of having to scramble for alternative jerseys at the last minute as referee Kenn Hansen found their standard away shirts to be too similar to the home strips of Esberg.
They quickly warmed up to the unfamiliar mauve-colored shirts as they were gifted a 14th minute lead when Mikkel Vendelbo accidentally headed a Jakob Poulsen free kick into his own net.
Their luck ran out within minutes, when a botched clearance from the defense flew high in front of goal and straight to Esbjerg striker Tim Janssen, who headed past keeper Steffen Rassmussen for the 20th minute equalizer.
Janssen worked his way onto the scoreboard a second time, when he found himself on the receiving end of a cross from defender Kevin Conboy, which he easily put into the net for the 39th minute lead.
Two minutes into injury time before the half, the visitors evened the mark once again when the temporary removal of Conboy from the field for medical treatment led to some confusion amongst the defense, allowing Jakob Poulsen to storm through and fire past Esbjerg keeper Lars Winde.
Unfortunately for the visitors, they were themselves forced to play nearly the entire second half one man down when defender Frederik Krabbe was issued a second yellow card for an unnecessary professional foul just two minutes after the restart.
The visitors still held Esbjerg at bay for nearly the next half-hour, but finally gave way to the winning goal in the 74th minute, with Jesper Jørgensen taking advantage of yet another poor Aarhus clearance and firing his shot from the edge of the area past Rassmussen for the final 3-2 victory.
Feilhaber went the distance, lining up on the left side of the midfield, while White was brought in with eight minutes remaining as the team searched for an equalizer.
Their third straight loss drops Aarhus to sixth place, but they will look to next Saturday's matchup against ninth-place strugglers SønderjyskE as a chance to regroup and work their way back towards the top spots in the standings.
FC Roskilde 0 - 2 Hvidovre IF
Jamil Fearrington went the distance in Roskilde's defense on Sunday, but was unable to help them avoid a difficult 2-0 defeat at the hands of visiting Hvidovre.
The hosts looked the more dominant team through the early minutes of the game, but their chronic inability to put away their chances prevented them from being able to get onto the scoreboard.
This ineffectiveness came back to haunt them three minutes before the break when Hvidovre's Anders Clausen received a pass in the box which he tucked away for the 1-0 lead to the visitors.
Roskilde continued to play well and press throughout the second half, but still lacked the ability to finish their chances, and were finally victimized by a remarkable solo effort by Clausen with ten minutes remaining that saw him cut through the defense before beating keeper Lasse Sørensen to put away the 2-0 win.
The loss drops Roskilde to 13th place in the First Division, just above the relegation line but with five point separating them from the trio of teams below them. They will have another tough afternoon in store for them on Sunday when they host second-place AB Copenhagen.
Notes
Marcus Tracy was an unused substitute for Aalborg in the 2-1 loss at home to FC Copenhagen on Sunday.
Michael Parkhurst did not make it off of Nordsjælland's bench as they fell by a 2-0 score to Odense on Saturday.
Danny Califf watched Midtjylland's 2-0 home loss to SønderjyskE on Sunday from the bench.
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