Silky Silkeborg Come To The Capital
When the draw was made for the Europa Conference League qualifiers and Viborg were pitted against West Ham I thought my luck had come in with a Danish team coming to the UK. Then I had to pinch myself when FC København drew Man City in the Champions League and Silkeborg came out of the hat alongside West Ham in the group stages to make it three Superliga sides set to visit these shores. With Norwegian outfit Bodø/Glimt also drawing Arsenal, we haven’t seen a Nordic invasion like this since 800 AD!
The London leg of the tie was set for Matchday 5, which felt a long way off when the draw was made, but as the days started shortening and temperatures began to drop, winter was upon us and so was Silkeborg’s day in the capital. I was told 900 Silkeborg fans had made the trip (alongside 200 club officials and sponsors) and so I headed to the People’s Park Tavern on the edge of Victoria Park in East London to grab some pre-match refreshments with the travelling support.
Silkeborg fans at the People’s Park Tavern in East London
It’s an extremely strange - but brilliant - experience wandering into a pub I’ve been to before and being greeted with the sight of wall-to-wall Silkeborg shirts. The beer was flowing, the songs were loud and I found my way through the throng of fans to a table in the garden where I met up with Esben & Mathias, two Silkeborg supporters who had made the trip over to London for this historic matchup. I have always said that Football In Denmark is as much an education for me as it is a platform to share. So it was brilliant to get Esben & Mathias’ perspective on where this game ranks (answer: one of the biggest for sure, but they did play Roma in 1998 - I couldn’t fail to notice the similarities in kit and stadium to West Ham, even if Roma can count themselves as perhaps more prestigious opposition) as well as stories of the club’s rise, fall and subsequent rise over the past decades.
The mood in the pub was understandably upbeat, and made moreso by the news that group rivals Anderlecht had failed to beat FCSB (who Silkeborg had beaten 5-0, both home and away), putting the Danish side in pole position for 2nd place.
I also bumped into Jordan Gardner, former owner of FC Helsingør who recently sold his stake in the club having been part of the club’s resurgence over the past few years. Having interviewed him for a podcast a year or so ago it was nice to meet in person and talk more Danish football. He spoke very highly of former FC Helsingør player Tonni Adamsen, who was sold to Silkeborg and has impressed in his outings for the club this season, and like me, was excited at the prospect of watching Kent Nielsen’s men take on a Premier League side.
With the sun setting, the army of Silkeborg fans marched en masse to the stadium, a 20 minute or so walk, and took up their position behind the goal, scarves swinging above their heads and bouncing in unison as has become typical for Danish fans.
Silkeborg came out in new limited edition European kits, described by the club as ‘cobalt blue’, to mark this Conference League campaign. Not wearing said kit were a number of notable absentees. Mark Brink - aka the Danish Andrea Pirlo - so instrumental in dictating Silkeborg’s tiki-taka style passing game, was ruled out with injury along with right back Oliver Sonne. Meanwhile West Ham rotated heavily, with their own qualification in the bag, although that still made for a star-studded lineup which included Pablo Fornals, Angelo Ogbonna, Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio.
West Ham dominated the opening proceedings and were handed a golden opportunity as Antonio went through on goal and made the most of at best very minor contact by Silkeborg’s goalkeeper Nicolai Larsen to tumble for a penalty. To my surprise, VAR does not exist in the Conference League so even if the referee wanted another look, it wasn’t possible, and the penalty was dispatched by Manuel Lanzini. The half petered out without major incident, but half time brough about two changes - star man Sebastian Jørgensen, so often dangerous in recent weeks, was replaced by Kasper Kusk after a mediocre first half, whilst Robert Gojani, who deputised ably for Mark Brink, was also withdrawn in favour of Andreas Oggesen. The changes had the intended effect as Kusk breathed life into the Silkeborg attack and Kent Nielsen’s side were able to get on the ball more. Their toil was rewarded with a handful of half chances but nothing more substantial than that and the game finished 1-0 to the hosts. Interestingly, this was the first European game where Silkeborg had fewer possession and fewer passes than their opponents.
It’s a sign of how far they’ve come that after a 1-0 defeat at a Premier League club, decided by a soft penalty, there was a feeling of disappointment in the Silkeborg camp. Kent Nielsen said afterwards “I know West Ham is the better team today, no doubt about it, but still it’s 1-0, with a penalty…but that’s just how it is. We thought we played a very bad first half, but in the second half [West Ham] could see a bit more what we can do with the ball. We didn’t create many chances but we had two or three 50-50 chances, and if a small team is going to get a result against a great opponent you need to have more authority in those situations and we didn’t have that today.”
In the mixed zone with West Ham’s Nayef Aguerd, before the Silkeborg players and staff arrived.
By the time Kent had made it to the mixed zone it was 10.30pm, he’d done a press conference and it was the end of what must have been an exhausting day. I was enormously grateful that he stopped to give me his time (the full exchange can be found on the Danish Dyna-Mic podcast, episode 5) and it felt like a huge pleasure to be in the company of such a warm and likeable character from Danish football.
Many Danish clubs have been extremely generous in giving me time with both players and staff and Silkeborg are no exception. Along with Kent, I also managed to speak to both Nicklas Helenius, the focal point of their attack, and Joel Felix, a centre back who has become an important part of the side.
Last season’s golden boot winner Helenius talked about how there was a feeling of confidence that they could progress to the knock-outs, especially given Anderlecht must win in Silkeborg, forcing them onto the front foot. I also suggested if he wanted a good night’s sleep he should not watch the replay of the penalty incident. “I saw the angle, it wasn’t a penalty,” he said confidently before he departed for the coach. His renaissance under Kent Nielsen has been well documented and I hope their European adventure can continue together beyond the winter.
With the crowds having long dispersed I headed off into the night, delighted to have had the chance to experience another Danish football experience on UK shores, but sad that Silkeborg had to leave with nothing to show for their endeavour. From the fans, to the players, to the staff, I was hugely impressed by Silkeborg and I’m hoping that, like West Ham’s previous guests Viborg, they can continue to upset the odds through their approach to the game.
