Christensen fires Sise’s Nordsjælland past AGF

Soren Christensen scored a hat-trick as Joe Sise’s FC Nordsjælland came from two goals down to beat AGF Aarhus 5-3 and keep the pressure on Superligaen leaders FC Copenhagen.

Aarhus looked to be flying before the half hour mark, with Martin Jørgensen giving the team a 14th-minute lead from the spot and Peter Graulund following up 12 minutes later when he put away a cross by Søren Berg from close range.

The Wild Tigers quickly fought back, however, pulling one back in the 32nd minute when a quick counter was finished with Kaspar Lorentzen setting up Søren Christensen for a blast from the edge of the box, then equalizing in the 41st with Christensen netting a scrappy goal from the left edge of the six-yard box after fighting off several defenders.

Aarhus did retake the lead moments before the break when Berg picking out Aron Johannsson for a high looping header to the upper left corner, but that would be the last bright spot for the visitors.

Nordsjælland were even just before the hour with Tobias Mikkelsen sending Christensen through on the left side, where he managed to poke the ball in despite a near-perfect lunge by the Aarhus keeper.

With the game looking headed for a draw, the hosts took firm control over the final five minutes, earning the win in the 85th thanks to a sliding point-blank shot by Mikkel Beckmann, then added a fifth for good measure in the dying moments as Mikkelsen ran onto a wide pass from Enock Kofi Adu on the left and put his shot away into the lower far corner.

With five games left in the Danish Superligaen season, Joe Sise’s Nordsjælland still have a commanding seven-point lead over Midtjylland in the race for the league’s second Champions League spot.

They will be back in action when they host Copenhagen, in a game which could throw them back into contention for the title.

Meanwhile, in the Danish 1st division [second tier], Njogu Demba and his Esbjerg fB can win promotion back to the Superligaen [top tier] on Saturday if they win at Vejle-Kolding.

Njogu’s Esbjerg defeated relegation-threatened Skive IK 2-1 at the Blue Water Arena thanks to first-half goals from Nicolai Hogh and 19-year-old defender Jonas Knudsen with Martin Thomsen scoring Skive’s consolation in the 74th minute.