FC Helsingør turned the kayak around when they picked up three very important points on Wednesday evening in the away match against Aarhus-based Brabrand IF. The win could even have been a goal or two bigger, but Brabrand played a good match right up to the last minute, and FCH could be very satisfied with a comfortable victory.
It was, however, the home team that got the first chance. No more than a little over two minutes had been played when a Brabrand player had to bite the grass after a hard duel with Dalton Wilkins a couple of meters outside the box., but the free kick went straight into the wall, and on the rebound “TK” could clear the ball and send it up the middle again.
During the first five minutes, the ball spent a lot of time in the air, which clearly suited Brabrand best. FC Helsingør, however, defended well, and neither team came to any major chances. After eight minutes, FCH got the first opportunity. A through ball toward Chris Cortez, who had replaced Nicolas Mortensen in the starting 11, fooled both defender and goalkeeper, and Chris was able to bring the ball along with his thigh. Unfortunately, he could not finish in the same movement, and the defense cleared it away.
Shortly after, it was close again for both teams. First Eli Just made a good raid down the left side and got past his man. The wide player cut inside the box and attempted a low cross. However, the ball found neither a teammate nor an opponent in front, and went out for a corner. From the resulting corner, there was a big scramble in front of goal, where both Nikolaj Hansen and Jonas Henriksen had their shots blocked. Brabrand collected the rebound and surged toward goal. In front of the FCH box, Norouzi got in a saving foot, and after a bit of ping-pong right in front of Kevin Sturh, FCH could clear the ball away.
Thereafter followed a period in which FCH were in control. Lucas Haren had a couple of really good raids that ended with a blocked shot, and a good cross to Chris Cortez. Then it was Jeppe Kjær’s turn to make a couple of good actions, where in two individual situations he dribbled past his man, but each time Brabrand shut things down.
After 19 minutes, Jeppe Kjær got into the box again. He beat his man with a clever move and drove into the area, where Brabrand goalkeeper Kørschen came rushing out. Køschen did not reach the ball, but got a hand on Jeppe Kjær, who ran past him, but had become so off-balance that he could not finish. One of those penalties that ought to be awarded, but rarely are when the player stays on his feet as Kjær did in the situation. The referee’s whistle therefore remained silent on this occasion too.
But the minute after, Kjær was rewarded for his efforts. Jonas Henriksen took a throw-in from the right side, and the ball was extended in front of goal. Jeppe Kjær fought hard with the brave Jutes, and got his head to the ball among friends and foes, and goalkeeper Christoffer Kørschén could only watch as the ball sailed into the net.
0-1 FC Helsingør
The next ten minutes saw the play move a little more into the middle of the pitch, and FC Helsingør were constantly lurking for a counterattack toward Jeppe Kjær or Eli Just. Brabrand tried to break up FCH’s play, and many fouls were committed against the Helsingør players in this phase.
After 35 minutes, Chris Cortez, who contributed well physically to the build-up play, won the ball and sent Jeppe Kjær away in behind. At the edge of the box, the striker was brought down by a Brabrand player, who could count himself fortunate that he was not completely alone in the marking and therefore could settle for a yellow card. On the resulting free kick, Eli Just stepped up to the ball, but his otherwise fine effort struck the crossbar.
The minute after, Jeppe Kjær again got through alone with the goalkeeper, on a long forward ball. Kørschén came out at Kjær’s feet again, but this time the goalkeeper got a hand to the ball. Jeppe Kjær still got the ball under control, but had drifted too far wide to the side of the box to finish.
When we reached the final five minutes of the half, FCH pressed hard for a goal. An inspired Eli Just got through on several occasions, and Jeppe Kjær also had a couple of good runs, but every time they got up to the Brabrand box the home side cleared it.
Therefore FC Helsingør had to settle for going into halftime with a 1-0 lead, which was at least a couple of goals too small in relation to play and chances.
Five minutes had been played in the second half when FCH got their first good chance. Lucas Haren was brought down on the right side. Norouzi delivered a sharp free kick in front of goal, where it was centimeters from Cortez getting his head to it, but again the margins were not with the Helsingør players.
But after 55 minutes, it was no longer working for Brabrand. Jeppe Kjær got the ball around the halfway line and made a strong run up the pitch. It really looked as if he was covered, but with a clever lob he found Chris Cortez, who just as cleverly brought the ball down and took it with him in the same movement. Cortez found the charging Thomas “TK” Kristensen on the right side of the box, and “TK” did not fail, but sent the ball low into the far corner with no chance for Kørschén in the Brabrand goal. Excellent build-up play from Jeppe Kjær and Cortez in beautiful combination.
0-2 FC Helsingør
After 62 minutes, they got their first big chance in the second half. Good build-up on the right side resulted in a low cross into the six-yard box. Dalton Wilkins got a foot to it and stopped the cross at first, but the ball still came in centrally, where it was very close to a Brabrand striker getting a foot on it. But in the end Andreas Holm managed to smash the ball away.
The match swung back and forth a little in this phase, and the referee allowed the Brabrand players to commit a fair number of fouls centrally, which did no good for the rhythm of FCH’s play.
After 69 minutes, FC Helsingør also brought fresh legs onto the pitch, as Nicolas Mortensen and Oliver Kjærgaard came on instead of Cortez and Lucas Haren.
Fresh legs gave a little more running power centrally, but FC Helsingør were matched in the duels by a Brabrand team that was not intimidated by being behind by two, and chances were few and far between as the match approached the final minutes.
Teddy Bergqvist had replaced Jeppe Kjær after 74 minutes, and in the 86th minute he got through on the right wing. Pressed by an opponent, he delivered a fine cross backward at an angle, but inside the box Brabrand’s in-form defense had gotten into position and could clear the ball away.
When we reached stoppage time, FC Helsingør won a corner, and managed to take three minutes out of the game by winning three corners and two free kicks down by the corner flag. After that, Brabrand finally won the ball and put together a couple of counters, both of which were stopped by Kevin Stuhr, who could gather a couple of half-hearted efforts.
And then the referee could blow for full time, and FC Helsingør could raise their arms with three hugely important points in the bank. There will, however, not be much time to celebrate the win, as the next match already awaits on Saturday, when Thisted come to visit in Helsingør.
FCH: K. S. Ellegaard(m), D. Wilkins, N. Hansen, A. Holm, J. Henriksen, E.Just (’85 F. Christensen), ”TK” Kristensen, D. Nourouzi, L. Haren (’69 O. Kjærgaard), C. Cortez (’69 N. Mortensen), J. Kjær (’74 T. Bergqvist)
Photo: FC Helsingør
