Despite a big advantage in possession, and really fine football for long periods, FC Helsingør had to settle for taking only one point from the away match in Næstved.
The first five minutes were fairly even, with a slight advantage to FCH. The away side tried several crosses early on, but the sharpness was lacking. Instead it was Næstved who got the first chance, when a somewhat random ball ended up with a Næstved player on the right side of the box, who promptly let fly. However, the ball went quite a few metres over the goal. Shortly after, FCH won a free kick just outside Næstved’s box, and Bay played a good ball into the area, where it was very close to Andreas Holm getting up at the far post, but the captain was not quite on time with his jump, and the ball went past and out over the byline.
Shortly after, a long kick found Matheus on the edge of offside. The Brazilian pulled away from his marker and was alone with goalkeeper Pryts. Matheus nudged the ball past him, but as he jumped over the onrushing keeper, he lost his balance, and the ball ran away from him.
After 12 minutes, the home side managed to score. A corner was saved at first by TK, but dropped down at the feet of Næstved’s Jesper Christiansen. His shot was initially blocked, but unfortunately bounced right back to his feet again. The second time he found the far corner with a precise strike, and put Næstved ahead.
1-0 Næstved
Two minutes later, Carl Lange was very close to equalising, when he received a ball in the box, surrounded by friends and foes. But once again Jacob Pryts was alert in goal, and with a long arm he managed to scoop the ball into his hands.
The match entered a phase over the next quarter of an hour, in which FCH passed the ball nicely around, and Næstved dropped a little deeper and defended. There were no clear chances for either team.
In the 27th minute, FC Helsingør then had the game’s biggest chance to take the lead. Frederik Bay got a rebound in the Næstved box and was brought down by Christoffer Boateng, who almost made a judo move on the right back. Patrick Olsen stepped up to take the ball, but did not keep his head quite cool enough, and shot too close to the goalkeeper, who was able to punch the ball away.
After the missed penalty, FC Helsingør continued to apply heavy pressure on the home side, who by then had six men in the back line and two men just in front of them. The FCH players had trouble finding a gap in the lines, and we did not get all the way to the 40th minute before TK recorded a shot on target, when he took his chance from distance with a long-range effort from the corner of the box. However, the ball just floated over the crossbar. The next five minutes did not lead to further chances for either team, and the Helsingør side had to go into the dressing room trailing 0-1.
The second half started with a big chance for FCH from a corner. The ball was played in well by TK, and headed down by Nicolas Mortensen, and it was very close to Jonas Henriksen being able to direct it on into the net, but unfortunately he was standing right in front of Jacob Pryts, who caught the ball.
Seven minutes into the second half, Næstved came close. A free kick on the right side was played into the box, where FCH’s defenders just about managed to disturb Nikolaj Hansen enough for his header to go wide of the post. A big chance, but nicely shut down.
Instead, FC Helsingør finally managed to make the most of the heavy pressure. Frederik Bay received the ball in an excellent pass from TK. Bay drove into the box and just managed to get the cross away. The ball was cleared by the Næstved defence in front of Nicolas Mortensen’s nose, but rolled straight out to Bay again. The fullback struck calmly towards the far corner, and Pryts just about managed to get a hand to it, but could not prevent the ball going into the net.
1-1 FC Helsingør
Shortly after, Carl Lange was again close. More than an hour had been played when he got the ball on the right side. He carried it up along the touchline, then turned sharply and cut in along the edge of the box. When he reached the centre in front of goal, he unleashed a thunderous shot towards the top corner, and Jacob Pryts managed with the very tips of his fingers to tip the ball over the goal. An excellent attempt from Lange.
After 70 minutes, TK was absurdly close. A long ball was flicked on by Matheus to Nicolas Mortensen, who brought it down nicely. He was caught in the box by a Næstved defender, who kicked the ball out of the area, where TK got to it first. He took one touch and sent a wicked shot towards the far corner, where the ball struck the inside of the post and just stayed in play. A beautiful finish, which very much deserved a better fate.
After 80 minutes, Næstved were close. A rebound outside the box fell to Carl Lange, who tried to shake off his man, but the Næstved player won it back and came into the box, where he shot towards the far corner. Mikkel Bruhn, who otherwise had not had much to do, came down superbly and saved, and at the same time managed to gather the ball under him. A superb save on a big chance.
In stoppage time, FC Helsingør won a throw-in on the left side. Henriksen threw long, and Andreas Holm headed it on. At the far post Douglas was under heavy pressure, but still managed to get a foot to it. The ball just crept past the post, to the great frustration of the big striker.
That was the end of the road for FC Helsingør, who had to settle for the one point in a match where they were by far the better side and had the biggest chances.
FCH: Bruhn, Bay, Holm, Gregor, Henriksen, Christian “TK” Køhler, Olsen, Matheus Leiria, Holst (Basse ´74), Lange (Roepstorff ´84), Mortensen (Douglas ´72)
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
