AC Horsens hosted Odense BK on the last matchday before the break. In an intense match the teams ended up splitting the points. Odense started strong with two goals in twenty minutes, but then seemed to lose control of the game. Just after halftime, Horsens scored their third goal, taking the lead. Odense did something back not long after through attacking midfielder Jebali, but couldn’t find the winning goal in the end. The visitors lined up in a 4-2-3-1 against Horsens’ 3-4-3.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be a strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, rewatch
- D – Below average in this match
Yankuba Minteh
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Gambian
- Age: 18
- Date of birth: 22/07/2004
- Club: Odense BK
- Career: Steve Biko FC, Odense BK
- Position: Right Winger
- Secondary Position: Left Winger
- Preferred foot: Left
In August 2022 Yankuba Minteh moved from Steve Biko FC in Gambia to Odense. The winger started in Odense’s U19 side but recently got promoted to the first team already. The 18-year-old played as the right winger in Odense’s 4-2-3-1 and scored his second goal in the league, after scoring the winning goal against FC Copenhagen on his debut in September. Minteh showed a lot to be excited about but also showed that he still has a long way to go and a lot to learn.
After nineteen minutes Odense launched a quick counter-attack. In a 3v2 situation striker Emmanuel Sabbi spotted Minteh on the right. The Gambian slotted the ball in the far corner with his left foot, doubling the score to 0-2. Minteh made countless runs in behind the opponent’s defensive lines and was quite dangerous with them. He even scored a second goal, which would’ve been the 1-3, but after he dribbled past the goalkeeper and scored the VAR concluded that he was offside. His pace is clearly one of his biggest weapons. He has great acceleration without the ball and is very agile. Minteh still has quite a lanky build and was easily shoved off the ball a couple of times. His stamina definitely wasn’t an issue though, as he was working very hard also doing his defensive duties, for the full 90+ minutes.
With the ball at his feet, Minteh had a pretty tough night. He looked quite awkward dribbling but somehow he seemed to win almost every 50/50 duel when dribbling past an opponent. I’m not sure if this is because he needs to work on his technique or because of the horrible pitch, maybe a bit of both. He showed that he can beat an opponent around the outside, but most of the time he opted to cut in towards his left foot after some body feints. He put in a couple of dangerous crosses in with his left foot, but the accuracy was a bit inconsistent. Overall he was pretty wasteful in possession, losing the ball almost half of the time. He overcomplicated things too many times instead of choosing the simple solution.
Rating – A2
Minteh is very much a diamond in the rough. He has the ability to create something out of nothing but he can’t always take on three opponents. However, seeing that he has only been in Europe for a few months he is a really exciting prospect and he could develop a lot as a footballer.
Armin Gigović
Player Profile:
- Nationality: Swedish
- Age: 20
- Date of birth: 06/04/2002
- Club: Odense BK (On loan from FK Rostov)
- Career: Helsingborgs IF, FK Rostov, Helsingborgs IF (Loan), Odense BK (Loan)
- Position: Central Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
After a short spell at Russian side FK Rostov Armin Gigovic went back to Helsingborgs on loan to join Odense BK on loan in September. The 20-year-old midfielder instantly got his place in the starting line-up and also started as one of the two more defensive midfielders against AC Horsens together with the captain, Jeppe Tverskov. Standing at 1.87m with a slim build, Gigovic has a great physique for his role. He looked very comfortable in the more physical duels or when shielding off the ball. He also has decent pace and acceleration.
On the ball is probably where Gigovic’s main strengths lie. He was very active in Odense’s build-up, dropping back often to collect the ball and sometimes even playing as an extra centre back. The 20-year-old is very mature and tidy on the ball and generally did well under pressure. Gigovic scanned very well and was easily able to turn away from his opponent when collecting the ball. His distribution of the ball was solid and he showed great passing range with some lovely switches to the right flank. There were a few moments when his concentration dropped and he looked a little nonchalant, which resulted in a loss of possession. Often he managed to instantly recover the ball back though. He looked great in tight spaces and wasn’t afraid to drive the ball forward when he saw the chance to.
Defensively he did well against Horsens. He kept the midfield compact together with his partner on the right Kvertskov, always staying close to each other and moving well horizontally. On the half of his opponents, he was also very alert and instantly tried to counter-press when it was possible, which was successful a couple of times.
Rating – A2
Gigovic is currently under contract with the Russian side FK Rostov but I doubt he will return there after his loan spell at Odense is over. After this season I could definitely see him play at a higher level though.