It was a really good evening for AB Gladsaxe in the top match on Friday, October 17, 2025 against Næstved away. It was a match that was worthy of a top match between two really well-playing teams. The match was watched by 1,447 spectators.

AB went home with a 2-1 victory. AB fell behind after 28 minutes on a goal by Næstved’s Aksel Emil Halsgaard.

In the second half, Jonathan Mathys equalized after 56 minutes and Adrien Koudelka scored the winning goal after 64 minutes. Overall, AB won after a really well-played match.

Before the match it was incredibly tight and even at the top of the table and AB was in 1st place followed by Roskilde and Næstved. AB maintains the top position as number 1 after tonight’s victory.

AB’s lineup

The coaching team had chosen the same starting lineup that did so well in last week’s victory over Skive IK. The starting lineup was therefore: Adam Ingi Benediktsson in goal, at right back Frederik Lindgaard, in central defense Adrian Koudelka and Noah Ibsen and at left back Tobias Damtoft. In central midfield were Marco Vesterholm and Søren Ilsøe (captain), on the right wing Marcus Immersen and Jonathan Mathys on the left wing. Up front were Noah Engell and Marco Ramkilde.

How the match unfolded

From the start of the match, AB pressed well and combined nicely. AB controlled the game and made Næstved run around. Næstved was constantly looking for opportunities for quick transitions, which they were good at throughout the match.After a quarter of an hour of play, Marco Vesterholm sent a really good pass to Jonathan Mathys, who drove the ball forward to Marco Ramkilde, who unfortunately sent the ball wide of the goal.

After AB had controlled the game for 25 minutes, Næstved finished with a good shot from distance, but Adam Ingi Benediktsson managed to send the ball over the goal for a corner kick. The corner was taken short and the ball was sent into the box. Unfortunately, the shot was deflected, and a free Næstved player could easily score to make it 1-0 after 28 minutes of play.

AB played on undaunted and controlled the game. There were several opportunities for AB, where Tobias Damtoft, Marco Ramkilde and Søren Ilsøe all three had chances to score, but they missed. AB had to go to halftime behind by a goal despite dominance in play. AB had eight corner kicks in the first half alone.

Ten minutes into the second half, Jonathan Mathys received the ball after a quick buildup on the left wing and shot resolutely towards goal. The ball was deflected by Næstved’s defense and landed in the goal for the equalizer 1-1. After a cross into the box from Jonathan Mathys, Marco Vesterholm missed the chance to score when the ball ended up just wide of the goal. AB got another corner kick, and it was taken short from Noah Engell to Tobias Damtoft, who sent the ball into the box. There stood Adrien Koudelka and he jumped high and headed the ball into the goal for a 2-1 lead after 64 minutes of play.

After 66 minutes, Marc Dal Hende was substituted in and took over left back from Tobias Damtoft. Casper Grening came on the field on the left wing and Marco Ramkilde went off. It was good to see Casper Grening on the field again after a long injury break. Marcus Immersen was moved to the center in attack.

After 78 minutes of play, Ægir Jarl Jonasson came on the field and replaced Marco Vesterholm in midfield. At the same time, Tobias Hageltorn came in on the right wing, and Jonathan Mathys took a seat on the bench. A few minutes later, Næstved had a breakaway, but Adam Ingi Benediktsson came far out in the box and saved the situation. Næstved pressed on and with 5 minutes left of regular playing time had a good cross into the box, which ended with a header over the goal. Noah Ibsen gave everything he had left when he managed to kick the ball away just before a completely free Næstved player could reach it.

Captain Søren Ilsøe gave the recipe for winning:

It became the kind of match you imagine when you come to a difficult away ground like Næstved’s. It’s a really good pitch they have and they’re good at playing on it.

I think we go behind really unluckily, because we had controlled much of the play. We agreed that we should just play the best football we can in the second half and keep believing in it. Then we get to 1-1 and we just continue and then we go ahead 2-1. We just felt that even though we went behind, we just play on and play today the way we want to play. So we should just continue with that in the second half – there was nothing we needed to change. We knew that if we just continued, we would win the match and that’s what happened.

Our approach to the match was to look at it like any other match. We shouldn’t do anything different because it’s a strong Næstved team we’re facing. I think we’re the best team today and we wanted it more than them. We played fast and applied pressure. Næstved is a well-playing team that is well structured. It can take a really long time to break them down. Then they get a goal and then it becomes really difficult because they stand well in their lines. I think we made it really difficult for them and they have to run a lot of meters to get hold of the ball – and I think we win on that today.

Head coach Joey Gudjonsson never doubted:

We played against a really good Næstved team. They can play, they can play direct, they can press – so they’re a really good team. I think we did a lot of really good things today. We dominated the match and I don’t remember them having very many chances or shots where Adam needed to make a big save. It was only at corner kicks that they could make it a bit difficult for us. I want to compliment the players for the effort they were willing to bring into the match. The quality they bring – it’s incredible.

We created many chances in both halves. We got good chances in the box, but we couldn’t finish them into goals. The way we played and combined our way through against a really good team was fantastic. They had, like us, won four matches in a row – and now we have five matches in a row.

It was a bit of a surprise when they scored. We pressed them out of the match in the first half and we didn’t give them many opportunities. We know they’re good with the ball and they’re good at combining, their overlaps on the wings and attempts to get through. They got a corner kick and we fell a bit asleep, because they took it short and could get behind us. Unfortunately, their finish was deflected and the ball went into the goal.

I was never in doubt that we would come back in the match. With the performance we delivered in the first half, we didn’t deserve to be behind by a goal. We came here to win, and if we had played a draw, it wouldn’t have been a bad result. We continued our play and the players ran a lot today. In the end we got the victory, and I think we deserved it.

The next match will be played on Saturday, October 25, 2025 at 2:00 PM, when AB hosts Brabrand.