First game in the cup was against fellow Div. 1 team Bullshead. With Chris, Niklas, Christian “Øffe” and Billing all out for the clash it was a small squad available. Good thing was that Simon could play. For this game there was even a coach and who else but Graeme who had flown in from Schina for a last chance to order the Vikings around.

Lineup: Marcus; Joel, Mikkel, Breitner, Stein; Hallas, Martin V, Jannik, Mofok; Andreas, Fran.
Subs: Tim, Ruj, Simon

The game kicked off and Vikings set out trying to keep some possession which has been one of the problems lately. It didn’t work out to well though and Bullshead soon took control with too many bad passes from the Vikings. After a corner kick that wasn’t cleared a Bullshead player could score easily. 0-1.

Not a great start as the Vikings has conceded too many goals after not winning second balls in the penalty area. Now the Vikings were forced to come forward in search of the equalizer and this resulted in many corner kicks and long throw-ins from Martin V. None of this ever became really dangerous as the Bullshead defenders were able to clear the ball just about every time. Martin V also had some good passes to Ruj and Andreas but again the Bullshead defense managed to hold them off. Instead it was Bullshead who scored another one and increased their lead. 0-2.

As if things didn’t look bad enough Marcus was also forced to withdraw as he clashed with the goal post trying to save a good effort from a Bullshead striker. The referee called it halftime and Breitner would now have to come out for second half as the new keeper.

Bullshead looked to be content with their two goals lead and didn’t come forward as much as in first half. Vikings didn’t produce any real good chances but mostly relied on corner kicks and long balls to Ruj and Andreas up front. It was however Bullshead that went to score first as they started a counter attack. Breitner saved the first shot but the ball went straight to another Bullshead player who could put it away easy. 0-3.

This seemed to be it as Vikings didn’t look to be scoring three goals. There was no giving up though and especially Martin V worked like an animal in the midfield. Also Ruj and Andreas tried their best up front. As Andreas received the ball at the middle of the field he outsmarted a couple of Bullshead players and ran straight for the goal. As he made his way into the penalty area there was only one way the Bullshead players could stop him and the referee didn’t hesitate to call the penalty. Andreas took the penalty kick himself and placed the ball in the middle of the goal as the keeper jumped to the right. 1-3.

With time left on the clock the Vikings could still turn things around. Mofok went in to pressure the keeper as he struggled to catch a high ball. The keeper lost the battle and Mofok put the ball in the net – unfortunately the referee called a foul and disallowed the goal. Breitner managed to come up with an amazing save as a Bullshead player had a shot from just in front of goal. The Vikings never came any closer to turning the game around so it all ended in a 1-3 defeat.

This was Graeme’s last game for the Vikings and he will of course be missed on and off the field. We all wish him and his family the best of luck. However he did promise to show up from time to time so the team doesn’t forget to hunt in packs, play it down the channels, use the width, and most important ball speed.

Man of the match went to Martin V.

Match report by: Jannik