Wednesday afternoon September 26th, 2018 the difference in quality and level between the top of the 2nd division, and the best half of the Super League two levels above was barely noticeable.
Jammerbugt FC delivered a strong performance against Esbjerg fB at their home field "Sparekassen Vendsyssel Arena" in the 3rd round of the Danish Cup.
It took an unfortunate penalty kick to send the victory 300 km down the west coast and to send Jammerbugt FC out of the cup tournament. A tournament from which the "boys" from 2. Division left with a standing applause after some 90 minutes well-played soccer.
Despite Esbjerg fB being the favorite and presenting a strong line-up, it was the home team from The Bay who took the lead from the first whistle. Jammerbugt FC went into the match unbeaten this fall and was not going to hold back. This meant that Jammerbugt FC created a lot in the first 45 minutes and already provided an opportunity for Viktor Ahlmann from the distance in the first minute.
This first opportunity arose from a situation the both teams from the west coast of Jutland have so often experienced i.e. being in control when a sudden strong wind from the west coast takes over and becomes an outside unexpected factor at play, but such conditions are an everyday lift for both teams and it did not seem to have a big influence on the game as a whole.
Star player Rafael van der Vaart was in the starting line-up for Esbjerg fB, apart from a couple of close-up free-kicks, he too had to accept that the "Blue Wave" gave their everything and would not calm down willing to give their very best as always.
Biggest chance of first half of the game came after the 30 minutes mark, when Jammerbugt FC in an inspired detail, knocked a corner kick back to Mads Larsen, who crossed the ball. In the goal area Nikolaj Lyngø hid it well, but the ball went wide. It left the fans with a feeling of this to have been the chance which should have been in the net, but Jammerbugt FC had to accept not this time.
Whether all of us fans like it or not, the visitors from the best Danish league attacked a little bit more towards the end of first half, and five minutes before halftime, defender Lasse Steffensen had to make a final save on the finish line after a ball had been passed on deep and opened up the Jammerbugt FC defense.
Sead Gavranovic and Viktor Ahlmann got the last word before the break as they combined well through the Esbjerg fB defense and the latter of the two kicked the ball the direction of the goal with his usual force. Unfortunately, it just missed the long corner.
It remained 0-0 at haltime and Jammerbugt FC had every reason to believe they could deliver a surprise. In fact, it would be quite deserved if they succeeded.
It turned out to be another story in the second half; however; at least the first 5-10 minutes. Only four minutes after the break, Lasse Steffensen slipped and touched the ball with his one arm. The referee was not in doubt and decided for a penalty kick to Esbjerg. 0-1 down, it was always going be difficult against a well-organized Esbjerg crew with quality in all positions, but Jammerbugt FC refused to give up. And while they took on the forces to chase, chances were created enough to equalize. Both Ahlmann and the substitute Kasper Skov came close before another replacement Simon Jensen headed towards goal after a corner but had to see the ball being rejected by a defender on the finish line.
It ain't over until the fat lady sings
No, nothing was final before the last whistle, but unfortunately the whistle came before the goal, and Esbjerg was pleased to have lived up to the at times difficult role of being a favorite and managed finally to be taking a place in the bowl for the next round picks of the tournament.
Jammerbugt FC was out but not down. The players were tired and disappointed but was carried off the field by a standing ovation from an appreciative and approving audience at the stadium.
The show must go on
It was so close, but no cigar, the upset was also greatly felt afterwards in the dressing room. But once the pulse had settled, pride of the performance kicked in. There was so much positive from this game to bring forward and into real life use in the 2nd division. The Jammerbugt FC players had managed to show their worth in full, - an emphasis on them being a team you can count on, and that there is much more to be expected from them in the future.
Esbjerg fB receives a big thank you for the visit and them putting up a good fight making all the players from Jammerbugt FC feel the game more as a tie than an actual loss.
The game against Dalum IF is coming up this coming Saturday on the Jammerbugt FC home arena "Sparekassen Vendsyssel Arena" and the fight for staying in the top of 2. Division continues this weekend.
Stats
Jammerbugt FC - Esbjerg fB: 0-1 (0-0)
49 '0-1 Adrian-Tabarcea Petre, Esbjerg fB (penalty kick)
Jammerbugt FC: Emil Kobberup - Søren V. Pedersen, Lasse Steffensen, Nikolaj Lyngø (Simon Jensen), Mads Larsen - Max Møller (Kasper Skov), Christian Rye, Robert Kakeeto, Nicklas Sørensen (Anders R. Jensen) - Sead Gavranovic, Viktor Ahlmann
Contributor of the articles of Jammebugt FC - Stats & History
My name is Thomas Jansen and my history with the club starts back in my childhood, where I at a young age started playing for the club. I have been doing so ever since. Unfortunately, I do not play that much anymore, but instead I am active outside the field.
For the last ten years, I have been taking care of many different tasks in and around Jammerbugt FC. To name a few, I have been taking care of the clubs foreign players, assisting with players contracts and registration, coordinated logistics associated with the 1st team, worked with sponsorship, the brand of club and the development of the club in general. All as part of the clubs great team of people working behind the scene.
These days I am in charge of communications associated with the clubs first team and the under 17 and under 19 academy teams. Still, just like when I started as a 6 year old, I do it with great passion for soccer in general and for Jammerbugt FC in particular.
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