AB Gladsaxe returned to winning ways on Saturday afternoon, managing to send Vendsyssel FF back to Hjørring with a 3-1 defeat. Magnus Munck Bjørnholm put Vendsyssel ahead 1-0 with a penalty. Noah Engell equalized, and Jonathan Mathys put AB ahead 2-1, which was also the score at halftime. Tobias Hageltorn scored the winning goal in the second half to make it 3-1.

It was a really great victory for AB against a very good Vendsyssel team, who at times in the match put AB under pressure. It was a match with a lot of physicality and close combat, but also a match with good football between two teams who really wanted to play the ball.

AB’s Lineup

Compared to last week’s match against Fremad Amager, the coaching team made two changes. Søren Ilsøe took a place on the bench and was replaced in central midfield by Mikkel Brund. In central defense, Marc Dal Hende took over from Noah Ibsen, who also took a place on the bench. Adam Ingi Benediktsson in goal, Frederik Lindgaard on the right side of defense, Adrien Koudelka and Marc Dal Hende in central defense, and Tobias Damtoft on the left side of defense. In central midfield were Marco Vesterholm and Mikkel Brund, O’Vonte Mullings on the right wing, and Jonathan Mathys on the left wing. Up front were Noah Engell and Marcus Immersen.

The constellation in central defense with Adrien Koudelka and Marc Dal Hende solved the task and played a stable match together. In the attack, Jonathan Mathys, O’Vonte Mullings, and Marcus Immersen pressed with Noah Engell lying in a No. 10 role behind.

Match Report

After only 4 minutes, Vendsyssel had a corner, but AB’s defense averted it. Just 5 minutes later, AB combined with quick passes on the edge, and Marco Vesterholm finished with a really good shot just past the goal. O’Vonte Mullings intercepted the ball and was completely free with the opportunity to score in the empty goal, but unfortunately his finish ended up just past the goal.

Vendsyssel pressed up, but AB increased the pace and played well around. Noah Engell came forward quickly and sent a good shot away, but it was averted by the defense. A Vendsyssel player took a dribble close to the sideline, which tricked AB. He ran towards the back line and passed to Malthe Holt Nielsen, who searched into the field but was felled. The referee awarded a penalty, which Magnus Munck Bjørnholm scored in the 26th minute to take the lead by a single goal. It was really the first finish that Vendsyssel had.
Just three minutes later, Noah Engell received the ball on the edge of the field. He took a couple of quick moves towards the middle and with a fantastic shot put the ball beyond the goalkeeper’s reach to equalize 1-1. About 10 minutes later, Frederik Lindgaard sent a good cross into the field, where Jonathan Mathys could head over the goalkeeper to take the lead 2-1.

After the break, Vendsyssel pressed on, and AB were under pressure. After a corner to Vendsyssel, where they finished several times, the ball was finally kicked well away by AB’s defense. Marcus Immersen ran together with a Vendsyssel player the direct way towards Vendsyssel’s goal, but he unfortunately committed a foul.
After 62 minutes, AB made its first substitutions and Tobias Hageltorn came on the field and replaced Marcus Immersen at the top of the attack. Søren Ilsøe came on the field after 69 minutes and replaced Mikkel Brund in central midfield. Mikkel Brund had just previously received a yellow card. Vendsyssel had another opportunity when a ball loss from AB gave a Vendsyssel player a free run towards goal. Adrien Koudelka tried hard to reach him, but it did not quite succeed, and fortunately the finish ended up close past the goal.
AB was under great pressure during that period, but then it all turned around. Quick play forward on the field, pass out to the edge and back to O’Vonte Mullings. He first took a dribble, then another dribble through two defenders and then a dribble around a defender. Then he made a short pass to Tobias Hageltorn, who safely scored to 3-1 with 15 minutes left.

Then came the last two substitutions after 83 minutes, with Ægir Jarl Jónasson replacing Tobias Damtoft. Søren Ilsøe was moved to left back, and Ægir Jarl Jónasson took over in midfield. Alfred Peter Horup came on and took over from Noah Engell, who took a seat on the bench.

Marco Vesterholm could have increased the lead with a really good shot, but the goalkeeper boxed the ball over the goal. There were no more goals, but AB got another victory and today it was in the presence of 819 spectators.

Captain Marc Dal Hende thinks it was a mental victory:

It was a strong physical Vendsyssel team that came to visit today. They wanted to fight, but it was also a good playing Vendsyssel team. They come ahead in an unfortunate situation where they get a penalty. Until the penalty, it is an even match. We showed our class to come back quickly in the match and Noah Engell his star quality we know he has, and he makes a really good goal and gets balance on the scoreboard. It gives us the faith back and we start playing the high pressure football that we want to be known for.
I think it was an incredibly strong team performance across the board. We didn’t give them much, created plenty of chances, and the attackers worked hard. So all in all a good victory and also a mental victory, where we got knocked down early – but then we get up immediately and win comfortably in the end.

Head coach Joey Gudjonsson thinks that AB deserved the victory:

We knew that our opponent today would be aggressive, press a lot and then they have a good team with talented players. So we knew it would be difficult. After the match last week where we lost, we have talked together about that it is definitely not what we want to stand for. We need to do more to win matches.
I really think that all the players made a good effort today. We scored three goals, and we could have scored more. We certainly deserved the victory today. The field is difficult to play on and it was not great play all the time, but we certainly won the battle and did everything we could, so we were sure that the three points would be ours.
Next week is the last match before we go on winter break. We do not change anything in our game – we go again for the 3 points. The players are happy to be at the top of the table, but they also know opponents will push harder now because they want to beat us. We’re ready to respond with hard work and intensity — and then our quality will show.

The next and last match before the winter break will be played at 7:00 PM on Friday, November 14, 2025 against Helsingør away.