Hobro beat Esbjerg 3-1 to grab an important win in the Danish Superliga relegation battle. Hobro lined up in a 4-1-4-1 formation whilst Esbjerg used a 4-1-2-1-2 system. The scoreline flattered Hobro who struggled to get shots away or retain possession and were 1-0 down at half-time after giving away an early penalty. A second-half rally saw them equalise 5 minutes after the restart before going ahead in the 65th minute and adding a third goal in stoppage time at the end of the match.
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: American
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 24/12/1997
- Current club: Hobro IK
- Career: Las Palmas (Y), Hobro IK, Odense BK (L)
- Position: Right Winger
- Preferred foot: Right
Sabbi was playing on the right of the front three and showed glimpses of quality but faded in and out of the game throughout. He is a skilled dribbler who can move very quickly with the ball at his feet using tight close control and good acceleration to run at and move past opponents. He was also effective at bringing others into play and showed decent passing ability when playing long balls out wide or well-weighted passes in behind.
Despite being predominantly right-footed, he frequently cut inside onto his left foot and moved into central areas when receiving the ball, making him unpredictable to defend against and difficult to mark. However, he needed to hold his wide position to receive the ball before cutting inside as playing so centrally came at the expense of options out wide for Hobro and meant they were forced to play too narrow at times.
His agility and ball-carrying abilities caused a few problems for the Esbjerg defence but he needed to use his body more effectively to protect the ball as it was too easy for the opponent to get between him and the ball to win back possession. His effect on the game decreased as the game went on with Hobro happy to sit back and concede possession to protect their lead.
Rating – A2
Sabbi has made the interesting decision to join Odense BK on a free transfer this summer. I think he has the ability to play at a higher level but a steady step-up in class with consistent first-team football may be good for his development, another good season and we may see him making a big move.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: American
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 13/08/1999
- Current club: Hobro IK
- Career: FC Dallas (Y), Hobro IK
- Position: Centre Midfield
- Preferred foot: Left
Cappis worked hard in the centre of midfield and showed some nice touches but lost possession too often and struggled to find consistency. Like Sabbi, he is comfortable playing passes with both feet and displayed good skill in tight areas but was guilty of losing possession too often by trying to do too much with the ball.
On a number of occasions he held onto the ball for too long before offloading and needed to play more one or two-touch passes to move the play on quickly rather than trying to progress the ball himself. His technical ability was evident but his passing was inconsistent and too often inaccurate. He did have a big part to play in the second-half as his free-kick helped to set up the goal which put Hobro ahead in the game.
Defensively he is not the strongest, he is tall at 6’0 but has a very slim build, and he could add more aggression to his game as too often he was second best in midfield duels. He did, however, manage to break up the play well by consistently getting touches on the ball to dispossess an opponent. At 20, his build could and should fill out as he develops which would increase his ability to win possession when engaging an opponent.
Rating – B1
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Swiss
- Age: 22
- Date of birth: 02/12/1997
- Current club: Hobro IK
- Career: Montreal Impact, Toronto FC, Hobro IK
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Onkony is a tall, strong, physically imposing centre-back and impressed on his first start for Hobro. He is 6’2 and has a solid build but he also displayed great ground speed when intercepting balls in behind.
He was able to use his large frame to outmuscle opponents or block their path to the ball and won the majority of his aerial duels as Esbjerg adopted an increasingly direct style of play as the game developed. On the ball he wasn’t particularly progressive, instead opting to keep it simple in possession with short sideways passes out wide or to the left-sided centre-back.
His defensive style was slightly clumsy at times, he struggled to sort his feet out on the turn and was very lucky not to give away a penalty with an obvious shirt-pull in the box. He did use his strong athletic ability impressively to make an important clearance whilst on the ground and, for the most part, put in a solid defensive performance.
Rating – B1