HB Køge put in a performance to be proud of against Superliga champions FC Midtjylland in the Danish Cup third round, losing a tightly contested game 1-0 with a first-half header from Daniel Høegh enough to settle the tie.
The teams matched each other with a 4-4-2 formation. FCM put out a strong team with the likes of Evander, Awer Mabil, and Mikael Anderson all starting and enjoyed the majority of the possession but were lacking quality in front of goal. HBK looked dangerous on the attack and their lively wide players caused some serious problems for a FCM defence that looked shaky and susceptible at times. Despite this they could not find the breakthrough, although they should have been awarded a second-half penalty for a foul on Jubril Adedeji that was waved away by the referee.
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: English
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 25/05/2000
- Current club: HB Køge
- Career: Watford FC (Y), HB Køge
- Position: Left Wing
- Preferred foot: Right
Adedeji was HBK’s best player and, arguably, the best player on the pitch in this game, constantly causing problems with his skill and dribbling ability cutting in from the left wing onto his stronger right foot. The FCM defence, and right back Dion Cools in particular, could not live with him and he took advantage of this to great effect, frequently drawing fouls and winning free-kicks in dangerous areas, although not getting a penalty decision in the second-half after what looked like a clear foul in the box.
He performed best with the ball at his feet and was constantly looking to take players on, displaying great balance and agility with quick changes of direction and good close control in tight areas. The chop skill was particularly effective in beating his opponent, where he would drive on the outside before cutting the ball back inside and onto the other foot with the defender off balance. He drew a number of fouls from these situations, with the defence unable to keep up with his tight ball control and the sharpness of his movement when travelling at speed.
He was able to get himself into some great shooting positions on the edge of the box but he was unable to take advantage of these situations, lacking power and accuracy in his shots and failing to test the goalkeeper. He also looked to create chances with crosses into the box, although his delivery from wide positions were lacking accuracy and often slightly behind a teammate.
He showed a good ability to use both feet, giving him the option of cutting inside or driving to the byline and making him unpredictable to defend against. One criticism would be that his decision-making was inconsistent and he was guilty of holding onto the ball for too long at times, this will be an important area of improvement in order to take his game to the next level.
Rating – A1
Adedeji put in a very impressive performance against top quality opposition and is clearly a player with a lot of ability. He took advantage of a bigger stage and showed that he is ready for a step up, and I think he would be well-suited to a top-half League One or bottom-half Championship club.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Danish
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 01/06/2001
- Current club: HB Køge
- Career: Brøndby IF (Y), HB Køge
- Position: Right Wing
- Preferred foot: Left
Elvius played on the right side of the midfield and struggled to influence the game in the first-half, with FCM dominating possession and the majority of HBK attacks coming down the left side of the team.
However, he grew into the game and began to show flashes of sharp movement, explosive pace, and strong running with the ball at his feet before being substituted in the 59th minute. He dealt well with not being involved in the game in the opening stages, staying engaged and varying his movement in an attempt to get on the ball. He worked hard in this regard, showing an ability both to run in behind off the shoulder and come short to receive the ball on the edge of the box where he would look to cut inside onto his left foot.
He also worked hard out of possession, tracking back to add numbers in defence and pressing the FC Midtjylland backline with good intensity. However, he could have done better in the build-up to the goal as he did not get close enough to Awer Mabil out wide, who had time to pick his target and whip in an accurate cross. He did well to get into a position to support the full-back but didn’t do enough from there and needed to show more urgency to stop the cross from coming in.
Rating – A2
Elvius impressed me in this game despite seeing little of the ball and worked hard to show glimpses of his ability when it would have been easy to let the occasion get the better of him. A promising player and one to watch out for.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Canadian
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 20/07/2000
- Current club: HB Køge (on loan from Toronto FC)
- Career: Toronto FC, HB Køge (L)
- Position: Defensive Midfield
- Preferred foot: Right
Okello played in the central midfield pivot and grew into the game after a difficult start. He struggled to get up to speed with the pace of the game and found himself bypassed in the midfield far too easily, lacking positional discipline and being too slow to react to the movement of the opposition which saw him booked inside the first 15 minutes. He was also caught ball-watching for the goal, allowing Høegh to run off him at the back post and win a free header.
However, he did eventually settle down and begin to use his impressive physical attributes to dominate midfield duels. He is just under 6’4 so is able to win most duels aerially but he also possesses good strength and decent speed which we began to see in his ability to break up play in the midfield as the game progressed. His height provided a great outlet for HBK, who would utilise him as the target for goal-kicks which allowed the front two to push forward into more advanced positions to receive the flick-on.
He needs to relax more on the ball, looking slightly nervous and rushed in possession at times where he could have taken a touch or assessed his options more. This slightly frantic approach meant he wasn’t properly setting himself before releasing the ball which led to a number of passes lacking conviction or being under-hit. Again, this improved over the course of the game and we saw him involved in some nice one-touch passing interplay to progress the ball through the midfield, preferring to move possession on quickly with minimal touches rather than travel with the ball.
Rating – B1
Okello settled into the role and eventually put in a strong performance but took far too long to get to that stage. He is still quite a raw talent but a player with a rare skillset and a lot of potential with the right development.
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Danish
- Age: 21
- Date of birth: 08/02/1999
- Current club: HB Køge
- Career: FC Nordsjælland (Y), HB Køge
- Position: Centre Back
- Preferred foot: Right
Wørts played as the left-sided centre-back and performed his tasks well without particularly standing out in any one area. He is not the tallest centre back, standing at 6’0, but he is well-built and has good athleticism which saw him perform well in aerial duels.
He defended his box well, showing good positional awareness to win some important headers and restrict the space the opponent had to work with in the area. He liked to defend high up the pitch as FCM looked to build out from the back but he needs to ensure he is winning his duels in these areas as he was being sucked into the midfield and failing to win the ball which was leading to gaps in the defence being exploited by attacking overloads.
For a player who has spent part of his career playing in a defensive midfield role I was surprised to see him look fairly limited in possession. He played safe when under pressure, with the majority of his passes going backwards to the goalkeeper, and his attempts at progressing the ball up the pitch with vertical passes or long diagonals were often inaccurate. FC Midtjylland are a very well structured team and they are effective at restricting the oppositions passing game, but I would liked to have seen more positive pass choices and better accuracy overall.
Rating – B2