FC Helsingør had to look far for revenge against HB Køge, who once again won on solid defence and two good counters. FC Helsingør had plenty of possession, but apart from a goal and a huge chance for Carl Lange, it was very difficult for FC Helsingør to create chances.
There had not been much more than a minute of play before FCH had their first shot. Anders Holst cut in from his right flank, and from just outside the box he sent off a long-range effort, but it went a fair way over the goal. Unfortunately, that would prove symptomatic of the match.
After five minutes, Andreas Smed was played in behind by Jeppe Kjær a short distance outside the box. Smed had drifted a little too far out wide, and his effort was blocked by Oskar Snorre in the HB Køge goal. From the ensuing corner, Nikolaj Hansen was close to getting on the end of it, but he lost the header duel to one of HBK’s towering central defenders.
In the 11. minute, Jonas Henriksen started a good counterattack when he played Andreas Smed in behind in the middle of the pitch. Smed drove forward centrally and found Anders Holst on the left side. Holst played it on to Callum McCowatt, who came charging up from his position at left back. Callum cut in from the left to the edge of the box and sent a powerful shot towards the far corner, but the ball went past both Snorre and the goal. Good build-up play by FCH.
Four minutes later, Eli Just was close. Good short passing on the right side eventually led to Jonas Henriksen clipping the ball in to Eli in the box. Eli hit first time towards the near corner, but could not quite get his body over the ball, and the shot went a metre or so over the goal. But it was FC Helsingør who were pressing on the HBK goal in the first quarter of an hour, and the home side were rare visitors in Helsingør’s half.
But from around the 19. minute, HB Køge managed to put together a couple of good counters. That led to a shot for HB Køge’s Okello from distance, which was blocked by Kevin Stuhr in the FCH goal. The rebound was sent out of FCH’s box to Eli Just on the right side. Just was tackled from behind, but the referee’s whistle remained silent. Instead, the ball was played centrally to Jubril Adedji, who took a single touch infield and shot at goal. The shot was sent in the opposite direction from where Adedji came from, and deceived Kevin Stuhr in goal.
1-0 HB Køge
The goal gave HB Køge a bit more bite, and over the next ten minutes the home side pushed a little further up the pitch. That gave FCH the chance to play more balls in behind, and on several occasions it was extremely close to Jeppe Kjær and Smed getting on the end of a through ball. But HBK’s defence was alert and just got a toe in at the last second every time. As we passed the half-hour mark, Callum McCowatt came close to getting on the scoresheet with a solo effort. McCowatt received the ball on the left wing and again cut in centrally. This time he took one more touch and got closer to goal before shooting, and his powerful effort struck the outside of the post. Snorre, however, had followed it well and was able to gather the ball just before Smed reached the rebound.
In the 37. minute, Adedji was close again. The big striker was sent through with a good ball and seemed to be clean through on goal. Callum McCowatt and Daniel Norouzi, however, got back, and Adedji was disrupted in his shot by Callum. Kevin saved, and on the rebound Norouzi lay flat down and headed softly back to Kevin in goal. Good play by the three FCH players.
In first-half stoppage time, Kjær finally managed to break through up the middle. Kjær ran towards goal, but a defender was ready to meet him, and Kjær was forced to shoot from the edge of the box. He sent a ball towards the far corner, but it just went wide. That was the last action of the first half, and FCH could go into the dressing room after a half in which they had clearly had the ball the most, but had found it difficult to create the biggest chances.
From the start of the second half, FC Helsingør tried to push the play further up the pitch, which gave HB Køge a couple of half-chances that forced FCH’s defence to head or kick long balls out of their own box, which the big HBK players could head away relatively unchallenged. It was only when FCH managed to string some passes together that it looked like they might threaten further up the pitch.
In the 55. minute, HB Køge sent Adedeji through behind after winning the ball in the middle. Only “Kritte” Bonnesen was with him. He pressured him long enough for Adedeji to have to play the ball across. Elvius had arrived there, and he prepared to shoot, but with a perfectly timed sliding tackle Frederik Juul Christensen got down and blocked the shot.
FC Helsingør then managed over the next five minutes to get the pressure high up and into the Køge box, but despite both Kjær, Callum and Eli being allowed to play the ball around in the box in several sequences, it was as if there was always an HBK player standing in the way of the finish.
In the 62. minute, the coaching staff then made three substitutions at once in an attempt to break the deadlock. Sloth, Lange and Haren replaced Holst, Eli Just and Andreas Smed.
That paid off already five minutes later, when Daniel Norouzi, after some activity around HB Køge’s box, found Carl Lange just outside the box. Lange took one touch and smashed the ball in a magnificent arc all the way into the top corner, with no chance for Oskar Snorre.
1-1 FC Helsingør
After 74 minutes, Lange was close again. Lucas Haren escaped his marker on the right wing and delivered a terrific cross to Lange centrally. But Eddi Gomes disrupted Lange, so he could not direct his header past Snorre, who got a foot to it. The ball fell to Jeppe Kjær, but the referee(!) had wandered into the box and disrupted Kjær enough that he could not finish first time, and Snorre was able to claim the ball on the second attempt.
FC Helsingør tried to pile on the pressure, but HB Køge sat deeper in the duels, and it often ended with long balls forward. In the 80. minute, the coaching staff acted on the fact that “Kritte” was strongly flirting with a second yellow card, and he was replaced by Brandon Onkony. At the same time, David Boysen replaced Jeppe Kjær, who had run out of gas.
Five minutes later the pattern of the game was much the same. FC Helsingør swarmed around the HB Køge box, and HB Køge lurked on the counter. In the 85. minute, a long diagonal ball came all the way across to Jonas Henriksen, who sent a dangerous long-range shot towards the near corner. The ball, however, went just wide.
But in the 89. minute, HB Køge got their counterattack. The ball was won on the left side and played into the middle. Here, an HB Køge player crossed the pitch and played it out to the right side, where the ball was sent into the box first time. In the middle, Liam Jordan was free, and he headed the ball in from close range with no chance for Kevin Stuhr.
2-1 HB Køge
In stoppage time, FC Helsingør pressed heavily around HB Køge’s box, but could not play their way through the HB Køge defence, and so they had to watch the time run out while HB Køge could raise their arms in celebration when the referee blew for full time. FC Helsingør’s next task is Esbjerg at home in Helsingør, and that is on Sunday 13/12 at 15.00.
FCH: K. Ellegaard, C. McCowatt, H.C. Bonnesen (80’ Onkony), N. Hansen, J. Henriksen, E. Just (62’ C. Lange), D. Norouzi, F. Juul Christensen, A. Holst (62’ Sloth), J. Kjær (80’ Boysen), A. Smed ( 62’ L. Haren)
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
