AGF drew 1-1 with Randers in match played in front of a virtual grandstand of 10,000 home fans, with a lack of quality chances for either side making a draw a fair result. AGF played in a 4-3-3 formation while Randers set up in a 4-4-2 low block. Randers went ahead through Simon Piesinger’s ambitious lob from just inside the AGF half that sailed over goalkeeper William Eskelinen as he was caught off-guard. AGF grew into the game in the second-half as the Randers defensive line got pushed increasingly further back and they were rewarded with a stoppage time equaliser by Patrick Mortensen.
Ratings
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Sierra Leonean
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 27/02/1997
- Current Club: AGF Aarhus
- Career: Hereford, AGF Aarhus
- Position: Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Bundu played on the right side of the front three and was marked tightly throughout so struggled to be involved for sustained periods of the game. He is tall, at 6’2, and strong but is also a very effective ball carrier, using his speed to drive into space and dribble at defenders. This was clearly a strength marked out by the Randers defence who had a man tight to him at all times and did not allow him time to turn or space to run into.
He struggled when receiving the ball in congested areas, lacking the close control to evade pressure and being harried out of possession by a well-organised Randers side. He is not the most competent passer and kept things fairly simple when moving the ball onto a teammate. His movement was good off the ball and he gave good options to his teammates, varying between running in behind to receive a through pass or coming inside and picking up positions to receive knockdowns from the central striker.
However, he was guilty of taking too many touches on the ball at times, particularly in shooting opportunities where, on a number of occasions, he took too long setting himself which gave defenders time to get bodies back and close down the ball. He needs to be more clinical in these situations and work on his ability to get shots off quicker, especially when off balance or under pressure.
Rating: B1
Bundu is a highly-rated player but, while he showed his capability at this level and was a threat with his dribbling, he still needs to work on a number of aspects of his game to successfully make the step up to a higher level.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Icelandic
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 26/11/1998
- Current Club: AGF Aarhus
- Career: HP Kópavogur, Fulham, Vendsyssel (L), AGF Aarhus
- Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Thorsteinsson played out wide on the left and impressed with good vision and spacial awareness that allowed him to link up play successfully. He has a low centre of gravity and showed good agility which, combined with a deceptive strength on the ball, allowed him to retain possession well under pressure.
He was most effective in progressing the ball when receiving a pass in a wide position, controlling it well and finding creative ways to lay the ball off to a teammate before showing a good burst of pace to move into a more advanced position and look for the return pass. He pressed aggressively and made it difficult for the Randers defence to get into any passing rhythm but on a number of occasions he gave away needless fouls which disrupted the momentum of the game.
His delivery from set-pieces was dangerous, consistently playing the ball in with pace into the goal area to create problems for the goalkeeper who had to deal with it under pressure on the line. Like most AGF players he struggled to threaten the goalkeeper but showed good technical ability and contributed well to the build-up phase.
Rating: A2
Thorsteinsson is a product of the Fulham academy and, from this performance, has the ability to perform for a team at Championship level. A season of Superliga football will be good experience and should help improve his productivity in the final third.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Danish
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 11/04/2000
- Current Club: AGF Aarhus
- Career: AGF Aarhus
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Hausner impressed at right centre-back as a big, physical presence, standing at 6’1 with a good combination of athleticism and anticipation. He won the majority of his defensive duels but was rash at times and lacked composure when diving into challenges and overcommitting high up the pitch. There were times when he stepped up very effectively to intercept the ball and create counter-attack situations but he needed to maintain his concentration and discipline throughout.
He was good when defending in one-on-one situations, his frame made him difficult to elude and he showed good upper body strength to get between the ball and his opponent. He was comfortable and composed on the ball and could vary between switching the play with long diagonal passes and playing short passes out to the full-backs.
He made some important tackles and showed good speed when covering to clear balls sent into space over the top of the backline. He was mostly successful in his aerial duels where he was able to use his height well to out-jump opponents, particularly when defending his own box.
Rating: A2
Hausner played with great confidence considering his age and relative inexperience at senior level. Has strong defensive attributes which will improve with age and increased game time, look forward to seeing how he develops.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Dutch
- Age: 23
- Date of birth: 06/10/1996
- Current Club: AGF Aarhus (on loan from Fiorentina)
- Career: Vitesse, Fiorentina, Vitesse (L), Feyenoord (L), Empoli (L), AGF Aarhus (L)
- Position: Right Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Diks looked slightly nervy at right-back and seemed to lack conviction and confidence in his actions, under-hitting passes and not being strong enough in the tackle. He is a full-back who likes to attack and, while he did impress at times going forward, he struggled with his defensive duties. He did show good heading ability both offensively and defensively, despite being only 5’10, as he possessed a great leap and timed them well to generate impressive power. This allowed him to get on the receiving end of a number of set-pieces and made it difficult for Randers to play long balls over to the left side of their attack.
He struggled positionally, though, when committing to joining attacks and being caught high up the pitch when possession was overturned. The AGF full-backs both pushed up when in possession, picking up positions on the edge of the box and looking to get crosses into the striker, however this left them liable to being exposed on the counter and we saw that down Diks’ side a few times in this match. His passing was inconsistent, he put a few good crosses into the box and played some good balls into space for Bundu to run onto, which played well to Bundu’s strengths, but he also gave the ball away needlessly on multiple occasions when there were simple passing options around him.
Rating: B2
Diks looked like a player low on confidence in this game. He did show decent quality on the ball at times but must cut out the mistakes and improve his discipline in order to progress his game.
Target Scouting 