Esbjerg defeated Skive 5:1 in the Round of 64 of the Danish Cup on 25 August. The visitors ran riot in Himmerland, scoring six goals across the match while the hosts managed only one reply. And here's the thing — Esbjerg were not in great form going into this fixture.
Ahmad opened the scoring for Skive in the twenty-first minute, giving the home side a fleeting lead. But Esbjerg responded quickly, with Ahmad netting his second just eight minutes later to level matters. By then the momentum had shifted entirely.
Sonderskov restored the visitors' advantage before half-time with a goal in the forty-fourth minute. Brajanac doubled his tally in the fifty-second minute, and Kudsk added another in the sixty-seventh. Brajanac completed his brace late on, closing out the scoring in the seventy-first minute.
Statistics paint a confusing picture. Both sides are listed with 0.5 possession and zero attacks, which tells us little beyond the raw goal count. Esbjerg edged the corners 2:3 and picked up one yellow card compared to Skive's clean sheet.
Skive had shown flashes of promise recently, beating Tisted 1:0 and overcoming Odder 3:2. But they fell apart after the opener and could not contain a side that had just lost five of their last six matches.
Esbjerg advance to the next round, moving on from a run that included heavy defeats to Vejle and Hobro. Skive's cup campaign ends after a performance that will not be forgotten in Himmerland.