Fans Want Him Out of Copenhagen
Croatian national team goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski saved Copenhagen with two brilliant interventions on Sunday, enabling a comeback against Silkeborg and answering critics who had called for his departure.
Croatian national team goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski saved Copenhagen with two brilliant interventions on Sunday, enabling a comeback against Silkeborg and answering critics who had called for his departure.
In the Danish capital, where he has spent just one year, Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Kotarski (26) is not exactly popular among the club's supporters. The issue began last season, when his mistakes cost the team valuable points on multiple occasions, and during the summer period, some fans called for his exit.
They particularly held his error in the first round of the Danish Superliga against Lyngby against him, but against Silkeborg, he likely made up for all of that. Judging by Sunday's performance, Kotarski clearly started to change those impressions with his display on the pitch.
In the second round of the Danish championship, Copenhagen traveled to Silkeborg. The most decorated Danish club didn't start the match well, and the hosts had several chances to take the lead. The first opportunity came in the 21st minute, when he made an excellent save with his foot at 0:0 to deny Jens Martin Gammelby, who was bearing down on goal.
Oliver Ross scored for Silkeborg four minutes later, and in the 41st minute, with the hosts leading 1:0, Kotarski again bailed his team out of trouble. After a defensive error, Ross broke through one-on-one and seemed certain to score a second, but the Croatian goalkeeper had other ideas. That save seemed to wake Copenhagen up.
After that intervention, Copenhagen woke up and started playing. Mohamed Elyounoussi scored twice in the 42nd and 45th minutes to give the visitors the lead by halftime, and he added a third in the 62nd minute. Thus, Copenhagen defeated Silkeborg 3:1 and recorded their second win in the second round of the Danish league.
This performance comes at the right time for Kotarski, who, after returning from the World Cup, has once again proven to be an indispensable number one in Copenhagen's goal, and a few days ago, he also played a part in the club's progression to the third qualifying round of the Conference League.
