Motherwell were given a comprehensive lesson by Danish champions Aarhus as we were thumped 4-0 in a friendly which marked manager Alfred Johansson's first march in charge.
Johansson will no doubt take heart from minutes in the legs and fans will remember an equally inauspicious start under Jens Berthel Askou, whose reign started with 3-0 reverse to FC Twente 12 months ago.
AGF were always likely to prove a stiff challenge and a Motherwell side without Elijah Just, on holiday after his World Cup exploits, and Tawanda Maswanhise in addition long-term injuries Paul McGinn and Callum Hendry, were always likely to struggle. New signings Martin Moormann and Willy Vogt didn't feature either.
Nonetheless, the nature of the performance which was riddled with poor giveaways will leave Johansson with no doubt about the amount of work to be done before things begin for real against HB Torshavn in Conference League qualifying on July 23.
The hosts needed only three minutes to open the scoring at their training ground when Tom Sparrow and Luca Ross lost the ball high up the park and a swift counterattack was clinically finished. That was a rare moment where AGF did capitalise on their opportunities, which were frequent throughout the first half; only a header from a set piece and a shot from Lukas Fadinger, which appeared to be tipped over, offered some token resistance.
While the plan was clearly to build from the back, mistakes were common and a hideous pass from Elliot Watt was picked off leading to the second goal in the 57th minute. A flurry of substitutes did little to change the flow of the game ad a third was added with 20 minutes to go when Matty Connelly's poor pass out presented the hosts with a gift even they couldn't refuse.
Emmanuel Longelo and Eythor Bjorgolsffsson were among the notable absentees while Apostolos Stamatelopoulos' return to claret and amber from his loan spell at Sydney FC ended with a first half injury.
The misery ended a few minutes from time when a free-kick passed through Connelly into the net. It had been conceded by Whyte, after he needlessly lost the ball in midfield, summing up the afternoon rather well.
The squad will now return home from their week in Denmark with the next publicly announced friendly Gent at home on July 17.
Starting XI:
Connelly, Sparrow, SOD, McGhee, Koutroumbis; Watt, Priestman, Fadinger; Ross,
AP, RCC
