FC Helsingør started the spring by being taken apart in Odense, and had to endure a heavy defeat against OB. The home side won 6-1 overall, in a match where FCH had very little to offer.
The match started with solid pressure from the home side. After just a minute and a half, Ricki Olsen committed a big foul just outside the box. OB’s Jens Jakob Thomasen stepped up and struck over the wall, but also over the goal. But then the Helsingør players had received a little warning about how the first half would unfold.
Only about four minutes had been played when OB’s Jacob Barrett ran forward on the left side and sent a high cross all the way across the goal, Troels Kløve was ready at the far post and laid the ball back into the box. Rasmus Festersen struck hard and high first time from inside the small area. A somewhat lucky goal, but also some passive defending.
1-0 Odense Boldklub
After a little over seven minutes, the first big FCH chance came. A good move from Basse in the middle found Douglas on the right side, and he sent in a good cross and found Matheus in the box, but the winger’s header went wide of the post. A minute later the ball was worked forward again on the right by Ricki Olsen. His cross was blocked, but the loose ball went out to Mikkel Basse in the middle. He struck decisively toward goal, but the home side’s goalkeeper Sten Grytebust was alert and safely held the otherwise fine shot.
12 minutes played. FCH are at it again. Douglas wins the ball well in midfield and lays it out to Ricki, but the fullback’s cross does not reach Søren Henriksen or Douglas, who are both in the box. Big chance for FCH, who bit back a little during this phase of the match.
After 20 minutes OB’s Festersen drove the ball forward and beat his man in the middle. He found Troels Kløve on the left and the winger broke free one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but Vaporakis stayed on his feet and Kløve could not finish, and Vaporakis eventually won the ball. Strong goalkeeping by the FCH keeper stopped a big chance for OB.
After half an hour OB broke through on a counterattack on FCH’s left side. Festersen was relatively unpressured and played a razor-sharp cross that found a relatively free Anders K. Jacobsen centrally. He headed downward, and the ball flew in behind a helpless Aris Vaporakis.
2-0 Odense Boldklub
And five minutes before the break it was also 3-0 to the home side. Troels Kløve got the ball centrally and played a splitting first-time pass that, between two players, reached Anders K. Jacobsen, who put it firmly in behind Aris. Passive defending in the center from FC Helsingør, which cost dearly.
3-0 Odense Boldklub
FCH substituted Ricki Olsen for Martin Fisch at halftime, and switched to a 3-5-2. But it did little good. Seven minutes into the second half OB won a corner. The ball was initially won by the FCH players, but Aris could not reach it. The ball landed at the feet of Jeppe Tverskov, who hammered it in from three or four meters.
4-0 Odense Boldklub
After 58 minutes FC Helsingør had their biggest chance so far. Frederik Bay got the ball on the right side and, with relatively little pressure, could put a cross into the box. Nicolas Mortensen came around behind his marker, but one meter from the line FCH’s top scorer could not get proper contact on the ball, and shot it over the goal. Huge chance that Helsingør should have made more of.
64 minutes. A previously rather anonymous TK played a one-two with Douglas, and ended up finding an onrushing Nicolas Mortensen with a sharp through ball. Mortensen tried to chip the ball over the goalkeeper, but Grytebust was once again alert and just managed to stop the shot. Holst got to the rebound, but his attempt to place it was cleared off the line by an alert OB player. Another huge chance for FCH.
Adnan Mohammad came on in place of Bay at the 70-minute mark, and just over four minutes later the little dribbler was in action for the first time. He cut inside from the right side and cheekily dribbled past three OB defenders, but his shot could only be placed one place, and Grytebust got down to the ball without major problems.
That was however some of the last offensive play from FC Helsingør before OB put the knife in during the closing stages. For the next ten minutes the home side was completely in control, and Helsingør could not even win the ball. It ended with Casper Nilsen after 81 minutes finding Anders K. Jacobsen with a deep through ball. The striker took a couple of sharp touches that completely fooled the FCH defense, and calmly shot into the far corner.
5-0 Odense Boldklub
A couple of minutes later a ball was deflected onto Mikkel Basse’s arm in the box, and today’s (otherwise flawless) referee Sandi Putros awarded a penalty without hesitation. Niclas Helenius converted confidently, and it was 6-0 to the home side.
When the stadium clock reached 90 minutes, FC Helsingør got a consolation goal, as a sharp and hard cross from Adnan Mohammad on the right found Nicolas Mortensen, who unmarked headed it in at the back post.
6-1 FC Helsingør
That was the match’s last action, and FCH could head back to Helsingør with a proper thrashing in the bag, despite having shown plenty of good moments especially in the first half. There is a lot to work on ahead of the home match against Horsens next Sunday.
FC Helsingør: Vaporakis, Bay, Gregor, S. Henriksen, R. Olsen, Matheus, Basse, Köhler, Christensen, Douglas Mortensen.
Substitutes: Fisch, Holst, Adnan Mohammad.
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
