With the resumption of the second week of the Danish Superliga
after its winter break, much of the interest was the signing of ex-Arsenal and West
Ham England international Jack Wilshere, who had signed for AGF and was expected
to make a brief debut from the bench to-night. Wilshere was presumed to be the
first English international to play in the Danish league after being capped by
England.
Tonight’s match was streamed live on Onefootball and Bet365.com,
with Vejle 3-1 outsiders, AGF 17/20 favourites, with the draw 11/4. It was a
match-up between the bottom placed side in the Superliga versus the side in 7th
place, with AGF pushing for a place in the top 6 play-offs.
Given the cosmopolitan nature of the Superliga, Velje only had one
Danish player in their starting line-up, whereas AGF had 4 Danish qualified
players in their XI. From the players who represented their sides in the last
round of fixtures before Christmas, Velje had lost midfielder Hallur Hansson
who had returned to Iceland to join KR Reykjavik, as well as keeper Grytebust, who
had signed for FC Kopenhagen, but ex Derby County and Dinamo Bucharest centre-back
Raul Albentosa and AIK Stockholm midfielder Ebenzeer Ofori had signed to strengthen
their squad in their bid to avoid relegation.
A large number of AGF fans had made the short 70km journey to Vejle,
and soon had plenty to cheer about when a swift counter attack saw them take
the lead in the 3rd minute, with Icelander’s Thortstenisson’s ( 17
caps) cross being met Sierra Leone international Bundu for a close range header
to give AGF the lead. Sierra Leone international Bundu is on loan from Ajax and
initially made his name at Hereford and the Craig Bellamy Institute.
Vejle were quickly back on level terms though, with Spanish
centre-back Albentosa powering home a header from Babayan’s corner in the 9th
minute. However, in a pulsating opening period, AGF quickly re-established their
lead, when a free-kick from the left-hand side was flicked on by a defender for
Poulsen to bury at the back-post to make it 1-2 after 16 minutes.
Vejle fought back but Ponce’s header went wide from a good position
and the intensity of the match was indicated by a number of strong tackles from
both sides, and a Vejle free-kick sailed narrowly over the bar. However, the
home side were back on level terms 4 minutes before the break, when after a
scramble in the AGF 6 yard box, Mucolloi poked the ball over the line for the
equaliser.
AGF thought they had regained the lead on the stroke of half-time,
but Mortenson’s effort was chalked off as Bundu, who had been the most influential
player in the first half, had been off-side earlier in the move.
After just over a minute of play, the second half was delayed due
to a floodlight failure, but fortunately, play was able to resume after a stoppage of 12
minutes.
AGF’s Thortstenisson then delivered a corner than sailed across
the 6 yard box with no contact, and Bundu regularly had the beating of his
marker but without any end product. The packed crowd continued to generate a
great atmosphere and in a pulsating game played in a good spirit, AGF looked
the most likely side to grab a winner but the referee ignored a penalty appeal from
Bundu after falling to the ground.
Wilshere was eventually introduced by AGF in the 89th
minute but despite a couple of nice touches, it was Vejle who pressed for the winning
goal, which arrived in the 91st minute when Drammeh was on hand to
finish an assist from Albentosa’s header to give Velje the three points.
Vejle BK : Brunst – Da Silva, Albentosa, Kolinger, Grundelund
( Hollsberg ) – Babyayon ( Opoku ), Oferi, ( Hetemi ) Drammeh – Mucolli ( Emmanouildilis
), Ponce ( Djordjevic ), Sousa.
AGF Aarhuis : Hansen, Kahl ( Munskgaard ), Hausner, Bisseck, D’Alberto – Anderson ( Wilshere ), Poulson, Grondaek ( Brandhof ) – Thortstenisson ( Links ), Mortenson, Bundu ( Kurminowski )
Highlights : https://superliga.dk/kampe/2021-2022/vejle-boldklub-agf-25-02-2022
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