RECAP: WEEKEND DANISH ACTION David Smith - Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Jamil Fearrington and Roskilde ended their six-game slide in a remarkable upset while Michael Parkhurst and Nordsjælland broke out of their slump at the expense of Aarhus.
AGF Aarhus 0 - 2 FC Nordsjælland
Michael Parkhurst worked his way back into Nordsjælland's starting lineup, as they ended their four-game losing run in league play with an impressive victory over Benny Feilhaber and Jeremiah White's Aarhus team on Monday evening.
Both teams desperately needed the three points up on the board, as each were in the midst of poor runs which had seen them slowly drop through the standings.
Feeling that their home-field advantage and dangerous stable of attackers gave them the upper hand, Aarhus came out after the opening whistle as the clear aggressors, continually creating pressure around the visitors' goal, however failing to translate any of the opportunities into scores.
With Aarhus possibly worn down from the relentless pace of the first half, the visitors were the more lively team on the field after the pause, and did not waste their chance to take the lead when Søren Christensen received a cross from Henrik Kildentoft inside of the box, which he chested down and struck past keeper Steffen Rassmussen for the 52nd minute lead.
The goal woke up the hosts, who pushed for an equalizer during the remainder of the game, but were thwarted by the solid play of the central defense duo Andreas Bjelland and Parkhurst, making his first league start in more than one month.
White entered for Aarhus in the 65th minute and provided the headed pass which Peter Graulund blasted into the net for the seeming equalizer 15 minutes later, however the goal was disallowed for a controversial offside call.
One minute later, the points were secured by the visitors, when Pierre Bengston linked up with Nicki Bille Nielsen on a counter-attack, with the youngster having no problem to complete the 2-0 victory for the Wild Tigers.
With the win, Nordsjælland remain in ninth place in a three-way tie on points with Midtjylland and SønderjyskE, still eight points clear of any relegation woes. They will try to notch up a second straight win when hosting fourth-place Brøndby on Sunday.
Aarhus also stay in sixth place after losing their second straight and fifth in six games, and will try to recover when hosting Midtjylland on Saturday.
FC Fredericia 0 - 2 FC Roskilde
Jamil Fearrington went the distance for Roskilde as they ended their long winless streak in grand fashion, going on the road to pull a surprise win over erstwhile league leaders Fredericia on Sunday.
Mired in a poor run which had seen them on the edge of entering into the division's bottom three, Roskilde stepped up their game against the league's leaders, and made it clear they were not intimidated by the seeming gargantuan task at hand.
Jeppe Kjær constantly provided chances to put the visitors ahead throughout the game, but it was finally front-line partner Tobias Perch-Nielsen who gave Roskilde the late lead with a long shot just out of reach of Fredericia keeper Carsten Christensen in the 81st minute.
Stunned by the sudden deficit, the hosts pressed heavily in the final minutes to try to avoid an embarrassing loss, however were undone by their fervor as Martin Junior Christensen and Kjær linked up in injury time to finally give the latter his first goal of the game, and the 2-0 win to the visitors.
The win still leaves Roskilde in 13th place, still two points clear of the relegation line, and will surely give them confidence as they prepare to host promotion-chasing Lyngby BK on Sunday.
Notes
Danny Califf did not suit up for Midtjylland as they defeated visitors HB Køge by a 2-0 score on Sunday.
Marcus Tracy played the final nine minutes of Aalborg's 2-1 loss at home to Brøndby IF on Sunday.
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