Esbjerg continue to struggle, while Hobro continue a strong start to the new season.
Esbjerg, coached by Sancheev Manoharan, are underperforming. They showed little midfield creativity in a 1-4-4-2 formation. The attacking patterns were predictable for Hobro to defend. Esbjerg showed balanced pressing moments and a mixed pace of build up play. Their goal came from exploiting space in behind with an over the top through pass on the flank.
Hobro, coached by Jens Gjesing played a 5-4-1 when defending in a low block. On the ball, their shape looked like a 1-3-4-1-2 . The attacking players were willing to press often. One positive note about Hobro tactically was their rest defense shape. Their team seemed to show good balance in rest defense moments with their slower centre-backs staying behind and having a holding midfielder protecting them.
Standout players throughout the match:
William Lykke (Esbjerg fB) GK, 21 yrs old, Danish
It is most important to note; this is a player currently on loan from his parent club, FC Nordsjælland. This is a young goalkeeper who had an impressive game and shows upward trajectory. What impressed me was his tendency to claim arial crosses in heavy traffic. Player also showed good decision making, choosing whether to punch or claim. Many players at this age would make more mistakes at this level. Two goals were conceded, and Lykke made one big 1v1 save. My reason for including him is the impressive composure and speed of thought. Below will be my highlights of him commanding the penalty area and the big save made in the 29th minute. I need to see more of a sample size of shot stopping actions and ball distribution to make a full recommendation.
Anders Sønderskov (Esbjerg fB) CB, 20 yrd old, Danish
This player is a centre-back who doesn’t consistently send line breaking passes or carry the ball in long distances. This performance was impressive because this player comes across as someone who reads the game well. Sønderskov anticipates danger well and steps in to challenges by beating his opponents to the ball. These actions prevent threats to the Esbjerg goal before they happen. The next step for Sonderskov’s development is to improve skills on the ball in attacking moments. If improvement is made in that area, the player can be good enough to take the next step and reach a Superliga caliber team.
Lucas From (Esbjerg fB) LM, 27 yr old, Danish
Late in the game this player was pushed from LM to ST. In my opinion, this was the most talented player in the game when it comes to raw ability on the ball. This looks like a player in the prime years of his career and has the upward scalability to start at the Superliga level. This player scored the Esbjerg goal and looks comfortable on the ball in the opponents final third. Below will be a clip of the goal and a demonstration of his first touch in areas to hurt the opponent.
Frederik Dietz (Hobro IK) LCB, 22 yr old, Danish
Deployed as a left footed LCB, this is a profile that is highly sought after. Dietz has a tall build and is slow. What stands out positively with the player, was the moments of making emergency clearances in his own box and winning most of his areal duels. The player has the basic foundation of a good defender and is an exceptional long rang passer. These are qualities needed of a modern day center back at a high level. If acceleration can be improved the ceiling for this young player is very high. I would still currently recommend watching more of this player based on this sample size.
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