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Mors let go Thomsen and brought back the coach of the last season

Paulsen led Mors to the semi-finals, but could not negotiate contract extension with the management. He is well liked by players and fans and they happily welcomed him back, even though it is temporary for now

Last season, Mors was an absolute hit of the championship, played in semi-finals against Aalborg, had the last offense to earn finals and placement in the Champion's League in the second match. They did not score, but left a huge mark and tales were told about them. Jan Paulsen was the coach, who led them to that, but he could not negotiate a deal regarding contract extension with Mors.

They employed Anders Thomsen from the second-league Lemvig, changed 10 players and Mors started the season with three losses. The last one was the debacle at Sonderjyske, where they were behind 17-5 in the first half-time and 32-18 by the end. The management could not stand that any longer, so Thomsen was quickly fired.

The media quickly started speculating and the former coach Paulsen was in the titles of all articles.

- Jan Paulsen is the best coach I've ever had. He knows us perfectly and it wouldn't take long to get back to the old concept we trust in - support of one of the best players on the team, goalkeeper Soren Pedersen.

For now, there is a compromise. Paulsen took over the team as a temporary coach, led practice on Thursday and Friday, and will be leading the match against Ribe, together with assistant Anders Fredsgaard, and the management should say something about a permanent solution during the following week concerning who is going to lead Mors till the end of the season.

- I'm happy that the club chose me first; that means they see that we were good together. That's a heavy burden and that's okay. If i become their permanent solution, that will be the proof for all that - said Paulsen.

How much Paulsen is adored by the players and fans is shown by the situation when he got a big cake from the fans before practice once, and on it it said 'Welcome home'. The debacle at Sonerjysk and the previous losses should be forgotten, as today Mors will be lead by Pedersen, Karlsson (middle back), Meinby (right), Ellebaek (middle/left; on the picture)..., be especially motivated and go out there like it were the finals.

The opponent is worthy, on Mors' level. Ribe has home defeats in the first three rounds against Bjerringbro and Holstebra, and a hard-earned win against TMS Ringsted.

- We are going to beat Mors - said left back Ronnie Mathiasen, who was the second-best scorer with 6 goals against Holstebra.

- Of course I believe that we'll win, but it is going to be a very difficult match on their turf. They won many points there in last season's play-offs. A hungry team without points is waiting for us; they got their old coach back and I think they're happy about it.

The were losing 21-15 against Holstebra before the half-time, which are rare numbers in the Danish league, and Mathiassen pointed out:

- The defense against Holstebra was not the best, we didn't play like we played in the first two matches. If we do good at defending, that will mean something also for the offense because we are going to be successful in counterattacks and score some easy goals. In the first two matches, we've shown that we can also play on the defense - stressed the back from Ribe.

The last season, they lost here 31-28, beat Mors at home 27-24, but we should not look back on those, because Mors changed a lot. Ribe brought in middle back Matias Helt Jepsen, but lost left wing Jeppe Riber, who was the best scorer in the league. The replacement has been found in the second-league Lemvig and seems to be okay. Soren Norgard scored 7 against Holstebro, 18 in three rounds and is among the top scorers (the leader, Rune Ohm, scored 22).

One of the key segments of the math could easily be Ribe's offense. How is the back-trio Matiasen-Helt Jepsen-Langerhuus going to cope with the pressure of the home defense, which will be very aggressive. Mors was letting in 23-24 goals with Paulsen during last season's play-offs. He could not make something great of the offense in 2-3 days, but could have motivated them and awoken aggression on the defense.

I am playing this on the count of Jan Paulsen's return to Mors' bench, which was welcomed by the whole team, and especially the supporters. I expect a huge effort and a great fighting spirit, and they have enough quality to win against an opponent like RIbe. Their top goalkeeper Pedersen, good middle back Karlsson, right back Meinby, left wing Skram... Mors is not as bad as -14 against Sonderjyske in the previous round may suggest. Paulsen's arrival, with whom they played last season's championship semifinals, is a huge thing and I think that it will be seen today. They were close to winning points in their first home game with former coach Thomsen, but they lost against Arhus 27-26. Arhus is a stronger and better team than today's opponent Ribe, who barely won their only away game against TMS Ringsted.