AB They'll Win, AB They Won't

High-rise housing for birds next to the pitch

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 27 October at the DS Arena
Result	Hobro 1 AB 1
Competition	First Division (Denmark) - the second tier
Hopping	487 on the lifetime list and the first in mainland Denmark
Pre-match preparation
Hobro are seventh and AB are twelfth (of twelve) in this division.  Bassel Jradi of AB (which stands for Akademisk Boldklub) is the only name anywhere near the top of the divisional scorers list, with five this season.  AB are from Gladsaxe to the north of Kobenhavn.  Also, pre-match, a quick visit to the Randers Regnskov, a tropical zoo.  Somewhere warm to compensate for the rest of the day, which was a bit chilly! ... because toucan play at this game hahaha (* old joke alert *)
This match in one sentence
AB took the lead, gifted an equaliser to their hosts, and then had to hang on for the point after going down to ten men.
So what?
Hobro are still seventh but the point lifts AB off the bottom spot for at least one day.
The drama unfolds
Here's an early scene-setter clip taken from the side opposite the main stand.  This is a very neat and well-equipped ground in a delightful setting.  After this I took up a seat in the stand to avoid the low sun in my eyes. AB did better than their league table position suggested and marginally had the edge in the first quarter of the game.  Then suddenly, Hobro had a two chances in quick succession.  Rasmus Mathiesen cleared a goalbound shot off the line and there was also a block from the consequent corner.  Two minutes later AB took the lead as Thomas Sørensen crossed for Kevin Bechmann Timm to glance in a neat header.  0-1 The next clip is from the end of the first half.  0-1 at half-time Kristian Geertsen found space on the left to create another chance for Timm, whose dipping and swerving shot made the keeper scurry across his line.  These two clips are from 52 and 58 minutes.  The second contains the comedy equaliser gifted to Mustafa Hassan Ahmed.  He was a handful all afternoon and deservedly got the man-of-the-match award. 1-1 Hobro's Mathias Unkuri got through for a one-on-one with the AB goalkeeper, Rune Pedersen.  The contact seemed minimal but Pedersen started rolling around in apparent agony.  Sørensen ran 30m to confront Unkuri and definitely made aggressive contact.  The ref took a full minute to separate the various parties as Pedersen lay unattended on the ground.  His miraculous recovery was a few moments away.  Both Sørensen and Unkuri got a yellow, as did AB's Marc Dal Hende, who promptly fell dramatically to his knees.  There was half a minute of confusion before the ref, having consulted his notes, produced the red to go with it.  It must have been the second yellow.  If it is not for something he said, then I have no idea what it is for.  Klaus Lykke dropped into the back line and did sterling work for the rest of the game. Hobro's Kasper Fisker really should have scored soon after.  In the next clip, Pedersen goes down again. You decide how much contact there was this time.  The final clip is in stoppage time, of which we had six minutes or so, and Hobro are close to scoring.  The only other thing I can tell you is that someone hit the bar at some point with a header from a corner, and a shot was blocked.  I was working with freezing cold hands and no specs, and I wrote that particular note on my shopping list instead of on my match notes, so we will never know who and when.  I'm an amateur.  Final score 1-1
The programme
Lær Dansk Gennem Fodbold (Learn Danish Through Football)
Det bliver utroligt spændende at folge om Esbjerg holde dampen oppe mod Sonderjyske. It will be exciting to see if Esbjerg can maintain the momentum against Sonderjyske. (From the newspaper preview of the match I am headed to on Sunday lunchtime!) West Brom har haft en fantastisk start på saesonen. West Brom have had a fantastic start to the season. Alex har en hårtørrer. Alex has a hairdryer.
Hopping for Moorfields Update
Two goals to add to the tally, but nothing else of fund-raising significance.
What Next?
Viborg v Fredericia, in the same division, later on the same day.