A true “castle derby” was on the cards when FC Helsingør were due to meet Hillerød Football away in the NordicBet League today.
It was also a reunion with former FC Helsingør head coach Christian Lønstrup, who before the match said that this was a game he very much wanted to win.
Before the match, FC Helsingør were in fifth place with 15 points, while Hillerød Football were second from bottom with four points. The last time the two teams met in a meaningful match was in 2019 in 2. Division, where it ended in a 2-1 victory for FC Helsingør.
And a victory was very much the hope in Saturday’s contest as well, so FC Helsingør could maintain the good momentum and keep pace at the top.
Photos by Andreas Birkebæk
Match report
The match is underway
The first ten minutes of the match were primarily in FC Helsingør’s favour, and Hillerød had a hard time even getting the ball away from their own half.
After a little more than 15 minutes, FC Helsingør also came to the game’s first big chance, when Oliver Drost did well to bring the ball down and lay it off to Callum McCowatt, who unfortunately shot straight at the Hillerød goalkeeper.
Shortly after, Hillerød got their first chance, but they too shot straight at goal, and Sayouba Mandé could easily collect the ball.
The match then progressed without any really big chances for either side. In fact, we had to wait until the 38th minute before McCowatt got another chance, this time with a shot from the edge of the box. Again, a ball that the Hillerød goalkeeper unfortunately had no trouble saving.
Close to half-time, Hillerød moved a little closer to the Helsingør goal with several shots from distance. They also tried to exploit a back pass from Nicolai Geertsen, which lacked a bit of power, but once again the FC Helsingør goalkeeper reacted quickly and correctly.
Half-time
Without having really seen many big chances, the teams therefore went into halftime 0-0.
2 half
During the first 10 minutes of the second half, the pattern of the game looked very much like what we had seen in the first. But then FC Helsingør raised the tempo a little, and after some time it would prove fruitful.
After just over 60 minutes, Oliver Drost came closest to the game’s biggest chance. The striker showed his pace well and carried the ball forward superbly. He cut into the box, but had to watch his finish go wide of the goal.
After 66 minutes, Hillerød surprisingly came close to a big chance after some nice interplay on the edge of the box. The ball was not cleared properly and Hillerød’s striker managed to send a shot towards the net. But once again Sayouba Mande was well positioned.
With 20 minutes left of the match, FC Helsingør truly entered the contest.
Goal (0-1)
After a shot from Nicklas Mouritsen, the ball ended up at the feet of Liam Jordan, who calmly, with a delicate inside-foot finish, placed the ball into the net for 1-0.
FC Helsingør then played smartly and waited for the right chance to put the match to bed.
It came after 77 minutes, when Nicklas Mouritsen was given too much space and could therefore confidently drive the ball in from distance along the right post. A goal that tickled all the right places.
Goal (0-2)
Liam Jordan could actually have scored again after 83 minutes, but he had to watch his shot go wide.
Afterwards there were several good chances for FC Helsingør, but they seemed quite happy with the result and therefore did not push seriously for another goal.
Final whistle (0-2)
FC Helsingør therefore deservedly won the match 2-0 and in the same move leapfrogged Næstved in the table and are now in fourth place.
