Starts in cup match: Nyerhvervelsen Kerim Memija får debut i dagens pokalkamp mod Vejgaard Boldspilklub, hvor vi starter således ⬇️#HobroIK #SydbankPokalen pic.twitter.com/V1AwLOUzlm— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) September 3, 2019
If these inexperienced kids end up being sold for record transfers, then I don't think they're the players that are going to relegate Hobro.
And they lost 2-1 to a club from the third division (= 2nd division, since the first is the Superliga) and are out. Sabbi didn't score.
In the Superliga Hobro is very good at standing solid in defense and then counter attacking, but obviously they can not do this in a match against a 3rd level team, where they are the bigger team and suppose to attack and keep possession of the ball, which is not really what they are good at, so I'm not all that surprised that they failed. In any case, this season is going to be all about escaping relegation from the Superliga, and not about doing well in the Danish Cup.
Sabbi, Cappis and Yosef Samuel are in the squad for the most difficult home game this season against Lord Bendtner and FC København, later today : Hobro Squad : http://hikfodbold.dk/truppen-mod-fc-koebenhavn-n2-2397?id=2397 FC København Squad : https://www.fck.dk/nyhed/truppen-mod-hobro-5
Sådan stiller vi op i dagens kamp mod F.C. København. Der er kampstart klokken 16.00.#HobroIK #sldk #HOBFCK pic.twitter.com/ns9GcJcw9p— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) September 15, 2019 And scores: 13' MÅÅÅÅL!!! Emmanuel Sabbi stiger til vejrs og pander et indlæg fra Edgar Babayan i nettet #HOBFCK 2-0 pic.twitter.com/nCQein39fQ— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) September 15, 2019
Huge win. Final is 2-1 Hobro IK @hikfodbold 21s21 seconds ago Slut. Vi vinder 2-1 over F.C. København!!! #HobroIK #sldk #HOBFCK
Sabbi suffered a broken nose at training 3 weeks ago, and so he has been wearing a mask since then, but he has been in luck that no Superliga games were played last week due to the NT break : https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/em...paa-at-hobro-ik.1996062/page-22#post-38110221
Transfer news: After the match against FCK, Hobro Director of Sport Jens Hammer said : "- I'm surprised everyone is here. We had come to an agreement with a big French club on their purchase of Emmanuel Sabbi, but they bailed out," but "- Against FCK, I was glad that everyone is still here, because they helped us get three points" "- This summer we had three highly interesting players [for sale], so of course it annoys me that we did not succeed [in doing a big sale]. But at the same time, I'm proud when the same three players helped us beat the Danish champions" said Hammer. https://beta.bold.dk/fodbold/nyheder/hobro-chef-overrasket-over-manglende-salg
Hobro IK v FC København 2 - 1 1-0 Julian Kristoffersen (4) 2-0 Emmanuel Sabbi (13) 2-1 Michael Santos (25) Yellow cards : Alexander Kirkevold (41) Christian Cappis (44) Edgar Babayan (90+5) Attendance : 5,428 Statistics : Ball possession : 27% v 73% Passes Completed : 147 v 525 Other match facts : https://www.transfermarkt.com/hobro-ik_fc-copenhagen/index/spielbericht/3210334 Hobro line-up 4-4-2 : Jesper Rask - Jesper Bøge, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Rasmus Minor (C), Mathias Haarup - Emmanuel Sabbi, Christian Cappis, Mikkel M.P. , Edgar Babayan - Alexander Kirkevold, Julian Kristoffersen. Subs : Julian Kristoffersen <--> Imed Louati (74) Christian Cappis <--> Nicholas Gotfredsen (80) Alexander Kirkevold <--> Brandon Onkony (89) Unused players : Adrian Kappenberger, Kerim Memija, Oliver Thychosen, Yosef Samuel. Extended Highlights (thanks to FCK TV) :
Started in 1-1 draw: Klokken 12.00 er der kampstart på DS Arena mod SønderjyskE, og der er genvalg til de 11 Hobro-spillere, der startede inde i sejren over F.C. København for en uge siden#HOBSJE #HobroIK #sldk pic.twitter.com/Ct3XCsIa1c— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) September 22, 2019 73' Vi foretager to udskiftninger: Oliver Thychosen og Imed Louati kommer på banen i stedet for Emmanuel Sabbi og Julian Kristoffersen #HOBSJE 0-1— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) September 22, 2019
Hobro IK v SønderjyskE, 1 - 1 0-1 Mathias Haarup (owngoal, 41) 1-1 Alexander Kirkevold (79) Mads Albæk, SønderjyskE misuse penalty (90+2) Attendance: 2,453 Yellow cards, Hobro : Edgar Babayan, Hobro IK (37) Mikkel M.P., Hobro IK (48) Nicholas Gotfredsen, Hobro IK (75) Hobro-lineup 4-4-2 : Jesper Rask - Jesper Bøge, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Rasmus Minor (C), Mathias Haarup - Emmanuel Sabbi, Christian Cappis, Mikkel M.P., Edgar Babayan - Alexander Kirkevold, Julian Kristoffersen. Subs : Julian Kristoffersen <--> Imed Louati (73) Emmanuel Sabbi <--> Oliver Thychosen (73) Mathias Haarup <--> Nicholas Gotfredsen (87) Unused players : Adrian Kappenberger, Kerim Memija, Oliver Thychosen, Yosef Samuel. Other match facts : https://www.transfermarkt.com/hobro-ik_sonderjyske/statistik/spielbericht/3210342 Quite a tactical home game by Hobro in a macht between two teams both expected to be fighting against relegation and so both teams were probably more interested in a draw than risking a loss, and so it was not a game where Sabbi was able to shine at all. Instead it was the much more defensivie minded American Christian Cappis who was picked as MOM by the Hobro fans watching the game from the stands, while it was an excellent free-kick goal by their Norwegian top-scorer Alexander Kirkevold securing a 1-1 draw, though it was Hobro keeper Jesper Rask being the big hero at the very end, saving a penalty in 2 minutes injury time. So far Hobro have had luck on their side, no dubt also because they did not sell any of their key players this summer, which surely has made a huge difference so far. But as you can see by the Superliga standings below, it's very tight and in my opinion it's going to be the bottom 7 teams fighting to escape the 3 relegations spots, with Esbjerg playing by far the best football (also convincingly beating Brøndby this week after a slow start) and also SønderjyskE and Randers being the least likely to go down, while Silkeborg is by far the the most likely to finish last. Next game for Hobro away against Lyngby will be equally important in their fight against relegation, but Hobro are surely going to be missing key player Edgar Babayan, who is out with a match ban after receiving his his 5th yellow card this season (in their first 10 games). Superliga standings : https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/danmark/3f-superliga/ Highlights:
Starts: Kl. 19.00 er der kampstart mod Lyngby Boldklub.Edgar Babayan afsoner karantæne, Pål Kirkevold er ukampdygtig og Mathias Haarup er blevet syg. Det har givet plads i startopstillingen til Oliver Thychosen, Imed Louati og Nicholas Gotfredsen#HobroIK #sldk pic.twitter.com/5yCAruJyj5— Hobro IK (@hikfodbold) September 27, 2019 Down 1-0 at the half.
As written earlier, Edgar Babayan was serving a 1-match ban in their loss against Lyngby and though he was back in the starting 11 against AaB Aalborg, both Sabbi and Cappis were out with a match ban which was quite noticeable in their 0-2 loss .. or in other words, Hobro very much depend on all their regular starters to secure a good result and have little depth, which is their key problem.
While we are waiting ... a small look at Hotel Amerika and the the few attractions of Hobro (a tiny city with a population around 12,000 people), which, besides their Superliga team, is mainly known for Vikingecenter Fyrkat and the habor area which include a tiny boat and a gas museum, but also a few attractions mainly aimed at children (see links below), like the 'World map' and the Hobro Mini Zoo : https://nordmus.dk/en/u/vikingecenter-fyrkat-2/ https://verdenskortet.dk/en/ http://hobrominizoo.dk/
The Good: Sabbi and Cappis have established themselves as 90 minute players with Hobro. The Bad: Hobro is a relegation favorite, sinking in the table after a decent start. The Ugly: Since moved to the wing, Emmanuel Sabbi has zero assists.
Well, Hobro is a very tiny small village in Denmark with a US connection, but I'm going to post this very small Danish Elk Horn Iowa village DR documentary (in English), which is also highly interesting 'Denmark on the prairie' :
Highly important bottom clash in the Superliga between Hobro and Silkeborg today (right now) : https://www.bold.dk/fodbold/danmark/3f-superliga/ Hobro line-up 4-4-2 : Jesper Rask – Jesper Bøge, Anel Ahmedhodzic, Rasmus Minor, Mathias Haarup – Emmanuel Sabbi, Jonas Brix-Damborg, Mikkel Pedersen, Edgar Babayan – Imed Louati, Pål Kirkevold ... 3 minutes in and Sabbi has scored !, 1-0 and assisted by Hobro captain Rasmus Minor
it was a long throw-in flicked on by Kirkevold and into the box where it was flicked on once more by Minor, right to the feet of Sabbi who could hardly miss.
1-1 at half-time ... Hobro were trying to defend their lead and hope for a few counter attacks, but Silkeborg managed to take advantage of having more possession, with an attempt on goal around 5 minutes before half-time, that unfortunately got slightly deflected by a Hobro player and cheating keeper Rask, so that it was just out of reach.