It was a match more marked by fight and physicality than finesse, as FC Helsingør hosted Kolding IF on Saturday evening. Kolding were best in the first half, but FC Helsingør turned the game around and put Kolding under pressure in the second. Both teams allowed themselves to miss a couple of huge chances, and both had goalkeepers who were right at the top of their game, so neither FCH nor Kolding got on the scoresheet.
A couple of minutes had been played when Kolding won a corner. It was played short, and the ball was worked centrally to Adam Jacobsen, who was lurking on the edge of the box. He tried a good shot on goal, but Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard was alert and got down to it. The rebound fell to Kolding's Morten Hansen in front of goal, but Kevin Stuhr also saved his shot with a strong foot stop. Hansen, however, had been offside, so any goal would not have counted anyway.
FC Helsingør then pushed the game a little further up the pitch and got their passing game going. But it was still Kolding who had the next chance. After a counterattack down the left wing, the ball came centrally, where a Kolding player was brought down on the edge of the box. But the resulting free kick was sent into the wall.
FC Helsingør tried to find the spaces in Kolding's back line, and Jeppe Kjær and Teddy Bergqvist were constantly looking to break in behind. But Kolding stood well and stopped good balls from both Oliver Kjærgaard and Eli Just.
After 20 minutes, FC Helsingør got their first big chance. Frederik Bay won the ball in his own half, drove up the left wing, and played a perfectly curled cross to Jeppe Kjær, who was through on goal with Kolding goalkeeper Frederik Ibsen. Kjær tried to chip the ball over the charging goalkeeper. But unfortunately for Kjær and FCH, his effort went just wide of the post. Huge chance for Jeppe Kjær, who was clearly frustrated.
Seven minutes later, Jonas Henriksen was close to repeating his goal from the Skive match. Anders Holst delivered a sharp corner, and at the near post Henriksen rose highest, but his header drifted just over the goal.
As we passed the half-hour mark, it was Kolding's turn to miss a huge chance. Kolding's Denis Fazlagic intercepted a poor pass just outside Kolding's box and drove all the way up the pitch on a counterattack. He found a teammate on the left wing, who laid the ball flat back into the box to Fazlagic, who from a completely free position right in front of goal sent the ball softly past the wrong side of the post. Huge chance for Fazlagic, who, luckily for Helsingør, missed in the most embarrassing way.
FC Helsingør found it difficult to deliver the decisive pass, despite a clear edge in possession, but Kolding also made things difficult with effective pressing and defending. FC Helsingør, however, also stood well in defense, and especially Philip Rejnhold was eye-catching with a handful of tackles and recoveries of the highest, highest class.
It was nevertheless Kolding who finished the half with a big chance, when a long throw caused problems for the defense and Kevin Stuhr had some trouble in front of goal, but in the end Kevin Stuhr and Jonas Henriksen together won the ball. That meant the teams had to go into the dressing rooms with 0-0 on the scoreboard.
The second half had barely kicked off before Kolding pressed around the Helsingør box. After a corner, the visitors got a shot from distance, which Kevin Stuhr saved with a good reflex stop. The ball came back into the box, a Kolding player shot, but almost while lying down Kevin tipped the ball away before it could go in. Again the ball did not get out of the box, and once more a Kolding player got there first, but again Kevin Stuhr saved safely. A great effort from the veteran in the FCH goal.
That was followed by a period in which both teams tried to impose themselves physically on their opponents, with many duels and scuffles in the center. We had to wait until the 54th minute before FCH had their next shot. Jeppe Kjær got the ball on the left side, cut inside and shot from just outside the box, but Ibsen had anticipated the attempt and held Kjær out.
Three minutes later, Teddy Bergqvist was annoyingly close. Frederik Bay got the ball on the left side, drove to the byline and played a low pass centrally. Eli Just took the ball under control and laid it on to Bergqvist, who fired a hard shot from in front of goal. Ibsen, however, stood in the way of Bergqvist's effort, which was straight at the Kolding goalkeeper, and he was able to box the ball over the goal.
After 65 minutes, Jeppe Kjær was close again. A long ball back to Kolding's defense was miscontrolled, and the always lurking Kjær intercepted it and broke toward goal. Kjær had, however, drifted a little too far to the right side of the box, and Frederik Ibsen came out and closed down the angles. Kjær unleashed a thunderous shot, but he could not beat Ibsen, who made a strong save.
FC Helsingør managed to put a bit more pressure on Kolding, but many substitutions from both teams, and a couple of stoppages for treatment, took the rhythm out of an already ugly match.
In the 75th minute, Jonas Henriksen was close again. Substitute Lucas Haren won a free kick on the right side. Anders Holst sent it into the box, where Jeppe Kjær nodded it on centrally, where Jonas Henriksen just about got a foot to the ball. But it came in a little too hard and high, and Henriksen could not direct the shot into the goal.
As the match drew to a close, Kolding dropped deeper and deeper on the pitch and FCH had to work hard for every single pass, and every single opening, and both teams' players were clearly marked by a physically intense match.
In stoppage time, FC Helsingør managed several times to gain a little physical advantage, but they could not break down Kolding's defense, and after four minutes of added time the match ended as it began. FC Helsingør could, however, console themselves with the fact that they maintained the points gap to Kolding, and that the defense looked like itself again after the somewhat too many goals in the match against Fremad Amager.
FC Helsingør's next task is an away match against the top side from Viborg. It is already on Friday, and the match is played at 18.00
FCH: K.Ellegaard, F. Bay, J. Henriksen, P. Rejnhold, A. Holst, F. Juul Christensen, O. Kjærgaard (’45 C. McCowatt), E. Just, (’61 L. Haren), D. Boysen (’73 C. Lange) T. Bergqvist (’61 S. Czajkowski), J. Kjær
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
