Midtjylland saw off Copenhagen 2-0 in the Quindeliga's ninth round on Sunday, a result that tightens their grip on the upper half of the table while leaving the visitors further adrift in ninth place.
S. Baattrup opened the scoring in the thirteenth minute, a crisp finish that settled the nerves of a side still searching for consistency after heavy defeats to Køge and Nordsjælland. M. Kaihoj doubled the lead in the thirty-third, and by then Midtjylland had established a rhythm they would not let slip.
Copenhagen's defence looked disorganised throughout, and to be fair they rarely managed to string three passes together without pressure. A. Givskov picked up a yellow in the eighty-third minute after a late challenge, while E. Tulkki was booked on the stroke of full-time for a different kind of error. Midtjylland's defenders held their shape and got their substitutions spot on, bringing on M. Kaihoj and M. Perdersen in the ninetieth minute to see the game out.
Both managers made changes in the second half, but the pattern of the match was already set. Midtjylland pressed higher up the pitch, caught Copenhagen in possession and turned defence into attack without fuss. The clean-sheet run came to an end for Copenhagen, who have hit a wall away from home this season.
Things came to a head when we called for a home win with sixty-four percent confidence, and the game played out exactly as we expected. Midtjylland's recent results have been uneven, but against a Copenhagen side that has lost seven of nine, the margin was never going to be wide.
Midtjylland move closer to the top four with eighteen points from ten matches, while Copenhagen remain stuck on six points with seven defeats. The gap between them is now twelve points, and the draw brought the two sides together at a moment when only one could afford to drop points.