The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Pressure on Rosenborg to turn shock loss around
ROSENBORG STRIKER Nicki Nielsen admits he and the rest of his team-mates are feeling the heat ahead of tomorrow’s Europa League second leg qualifier at McDiarmid Park.
The Norwegian side were on a 15-game unbeaten run before St Johnstone shocked them by winning 1-0 in the Lerkendal Stadion last week.
Nielsen, who played in Italy’s Serie A with Reggina and for Spanish sides Villareal and Rayo Vallecano, penned a four-year deal with Rosenborg earlier this year and he revealed that the result had stunned the home support.
Now the 25-year-old Dane admits there is a lot of pressure on the squad to turn things around tomorrow night to ensure that they can continue to edge closer to the lucrative group stages.
He said: “Our fans expect us to progress in the competition and of course that brings pressure. But good football players and a good team have to win under pressure.
“We have to go to Scotland and win. You saw after the game in Trondheim that our fans were unhappy with us. We have to live with that.
“They defended very well but I am confident we can score two goals in the second game.
“It’s not going to be easy because they are a good team — but we can do it.
He added: “It was disappointing to lose, especially at home because we hadn’t lost in 15 games.
“We were a bit surprised by St Johnstone. They’re a good team and played very well but I think they had only one good chance and they scored with it.
“I don’t believe we underestimated St Johnstone. The league in Scotland is not bad and they are number three, so we knew they were good. We had seen a lot of their games from last season.
“I don’t think the Norwegian league is better than the one in Scotland. It is very equal — it is almost the same level.
“We had a lot of chances but we weren’t effective so they won. But they only won 1-0 so it is still possible for us to go into the next round. That is what we must believe.
“I had a chance to beat their goalkeeper and I couldn’t do anything better with it. It was a good save by the keeper. He did well.
“But we had big chances and should have scored a minimum of two goals.”