AALBORG, DENMARK - Four straight losses to FC Midtjylland were avenged on Sunday afternoon when Aalborg BK finally secured a 1-0 win in front of 9,605 spectators at a chilly Aalborg Stadion.

Captain Danny Califf played 90 strong minutes as he led his defense to their only fourth clean sheet in the league this season.

The hosts came close to a dream start with a second minute free kick, but Midtjylland's Czech keeper Martin Raska made the save on Rade Prica's 25-yard blast to the bottom right corner.

Eight minutes later, FCM had their first chance of the game, but Simon Poulsen's header from a left side corner went wide.

The home fans cheered when Kasper Risgård sent the ball over the line after 13 minutes, but referee Nicolai Vollquartz disallowed the goal for a foul on Claus Madsen.

Nine minutes later, Martin Pedersen sent a beautiful long diagonal pass to Siyabonga Nomvethe on the right side of the penalty box, but the ball ran away from him after a difficult first touch and Raska grabbed it in front of him.

Shortly after, Andreas Johansson sent Prica through the defensive line. Prica found an open Jeppe Curth, who sent his shot just wide of the goal.

After 29 minutes, Prica sent in a cross from the left to Johansson's feet, but Raska made the low save once again.

Midtjylland had been rare guests at AaB's half of the field, but at the half hour mark, Oluwafemi Ajilore fancied his chance from 25 yards, only to have his shot go straight to Karim Zaza.

Five minutes later, an FCM corner kick from the left side fell to Danny Olsen at the near post, but his attempt went just wide.

Shortly thereafter, Nomvethe sent a ball in from the right flank towards a wide open Prica, but Raska blocked the pass before the striker could touch it in.

With two minutes left of the half, Midtjylland came close when a poor clearance after a corner fell to Mikkel Thygesen, but his shot went wide of the goal.

The half nearly ended in a brawl when Simon Poulsen sent Risgård to the grass with a hard tackle that lit the home team's tempers. Poulsen was shown the yellow card for his troubles.

"To tell you the truth, I don't even know what was said, but you know how these things get," Califf told American Soccer Daily after the game. "Something small leads to something big and then more guys get involved, but I think it was just some animosity that has built up over this rivalry."

Midtjylland looked like a new team coming out for the second half, but had little to show for their early raids on the AaB goal. Frank Kristensen went through three minutes in, but Zaza saved with his legs.

Instead, AaB took charge again and five minutes later, Johansson put his head to a cross from Allan Olesen, but his attempt went wide.

Martin Pedersen was next to try his luck with a long range drive 11 minutes into the half, but the attempt whistled just past the post.

Seven minutes later, it was the away fans' turn to get their hopes up when Magnus Troest sent the ball over the line, but this time, Vollquartz whistled for an Olsen foul on Zaza.

In the next minute, however, Johansson had a shot from within the penalty area at the other end. Raska made the save, but after a few deflections in defense, the rebound fell to Nomvethe, who sent it into the net for the 1-0 lead.

The goal sparked an all-out Midtjylland attack, but it would be another 24 minutes before they came close. Sergei Dadu let fly with a 20-yard free kick, but Zaza made the save for a corner.

In the last minute, it was Thygesen who suddenly found himself with the ball in front of AaB's goal, but he sent his shot wide.

AaB withstood the pressure and secured the win - no doubt a major confidence boost before Thursday's UEFA Cup challenge against Tottenham at White Hart Lane.

"It feels great," Califf told ASD "They're a high quality team and they brought everything tonight. I think we match up against them well. It was an up and down game, it was an exciting game, I think. Lots of chances. It's a great one."

"Time and time again, we tend to keep it clean when we have to and tonight was another example of that. I think it's something good to build on going into Thursday against Tottenham."

"They were throwing a lot of numbers forward and they have big guys, but I think that's going to be what we see when we go on Thursday, so I think it was a good warm-up. It was a good confidence builder and it was a monkey off our back against this team."

Aalborg BK are now second in the league behind FC Copenhagen on goal difference. With only one league game to play this year, they will head into the winter break in at least second place as FC Midtjylland are now four points behind in third.

"I think it's huge," added Califf. "Last year, we started out really well and we faded towards the end of the first half of the season and I think to carry this momentum heading into the break is huge."

After the Tottenham game on Thursday, AaB face bottom dwellers Lyngby BK for the final league game of the calendar year.

ASD's Three Stars
#1 Siyabonga Nomvethe
#2 Mikkel Thygesen
#3 Andreas Johansson

Scoring
AAB - Siyabonga Nomvethe 6 65'

Line-ups
AAB - Karim Zaza; Michael Jakobsen, Martin Pedersen (Steve Olfers 88'), Danny Califf, Andreas Johansson, Thomas Augustinussen, Rade Prica, Jeppe Curth (Thomas Enevoldsen 75'), Siyabonga Nomvethe (Mattias Lindström 70'), Allan Olesen, Kasper Risgård

FCM - Martin Raska; Magnus Troest, Claus Madsen, Mikkel Thygesen, Simon Poulsen, Christopher Poulsen, Danny Olsen (Dennis Flinta 72'), Frank Kristensen, Oluwafemi Ajilore, Adigun Salami (Sergei Dadu 70'), Winston Reid