NIF 0 - 9 Ild (389437805)

Overcast weather free of rain made for a crowd turnout of 12000 at Sulsted Station today. Morten Balsby Thomsen was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Árpád Lőrincz and René Rennert. The derby had been the talk of Nordjylland all week and fans of both teams could be seen throughout the stadium. NIF had chosen a strategic 4-4-2 formation. The following players had been chosen: Bille - Schou, Carlsen, Thành Khôi, Rossen - Knigge, Aaby, Elbæk, Skogen - Khan, Friis.

Ild started off with a 3-4-3 lineup. The following players took the field: Bonde - Huţanu, Prost, Sall - Miqaelyan, Mel'nikovich, Montes, Kirkeby - Thorsen, Leleux, Stolberg.

Ild mostly ignored the flanks in favour of their ability to attack in the middle. It was obvious that team Ild had instructions to attack in the middle instead of on the wings. 15 minutes into the game, J. Montes almost gave the visitors the lead, as he clipped a delicate lob over the keeper, but the ball glanced harmlessly off the crossbar. Ild had a good opportunity to attack on the wing, but remembered their instructions to go for middle attacks. A mistake by the home side's central defence after 21 minutes allowed K. Thorsen to score for Ild. The scoreboard now read 0 - 1. 28 minutes in, NIF's N. Thành Khôi received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. Ild players heard their coach's words ringing in their ears and steered their wing attacks to the middle instead. After 32 minutes a combination in the middle resulted in a through ball for L. Leleux who increased Ild's lead to 0 - 2. After 36 minutes, Ild's K. Thorsen burst through the central defence and let loose a cannonball of a shot, scoring for 0 - 3. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave N. Stolberg from Ild a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 38 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! N. Thành Khôi was the unlucky victim and couldn't continue the game, so NIF's W. Weber had to come off the bench. Some fine movement on the left led to a Ild goal after 40 minutes, making it 0 - 4. P. Kirkeby was noted down as the scorer. By now, the players in Ild felt that victory was guaranteed and began to play it safe, focusing on defence and not risking too much going forward. 0 - 4 was the halftime score. Ild claimed to have seen most of the ball, and the statistics agreed with them - possession being 73 percent.

Given a free kick close to the byline, Ild tried a move that loyal fans may recognise from training. A pass to the side pulled the defence out of position which let A. Miqaelyan slip through on goal. He didn't have to break his stride, and slipped the ball past the keeper to make it 0 - 5, 65 minutes into the game. Central attacks were the recipe of the day for Ild, as they moved the ball from the wings to the middle with startling regularity. N. Stolberg received a delicate pass through the home side's central defence after 67 minutes, and chipped it past the flailing keeper to score making it 0 - 6. The Ild fans went wild, whilst the home fans started to think about leaving early. The referee showed Ild's T. Prost the yellow card after a particularly nasty challenge. NIF were forced into a substitution as R. Carlsen couldn't continue due to some rough treatment, forcing V. Callesen to come in off the bench. After 76 minutes, Ild sent a free kick in high over the penalty box. In what looked like a well-rehearsed move, the ball was headed backwards and reached L. Leleux, who had plenty of space to place a well aimed shot - 0 - 7. Central attacks were the recipe of the day for Ild, as they moved the ball from the wings to the middle with startling regularity. After 82 minutes, an incisive pass through the middle gave L. Leleux a chance to increase the lead for Ild, and he did not disappoint. The score was then 0 - 8. By then L. Leleux had scored three goals - a hat trick! NIF's B. Khan was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 85 minutes. A spectacular volley from V. Callesen almost resulted in a goal, but a good save from the keeper kept it out, and E. Friis could only knock the loose ball wide. The visitors' N. Stolberg took advantage of a misunderstanding between the home side's goalie and centre backs 87 minutes into the match. 0 - 9 for Ild. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Ild, with 76 percent of the ball.

J. Aaby performed admirably for NIF. On the other hand, D. Bille's play was disheartening. Most important Ild player was L. Leleux. J. Sall was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 9.