FC Helsingør hosted Helsingborgs IF in a friendly match on Monday evening. A little extra was made of the welcome for our Swedish neighbors, as it had been decided that this would be the first time we played for the “Øresund Cup,” as a mark of the close relationship between the neighboring cities of Helsingør and Helsingborg.
The first five minutes were marked by somewhat unsettled play from both teams, and we therefore had to wait until the fifth minute before the game’s first shot. It came from the two attacking trialists in FC Helsingør colors, Carl Lange and Kristian Andersen, who combined down the left side. Lange found Andersen, who had moved into a central position, and the former HB Køge player struck the ball firmly, though it went about half a meter over the goal.
After ten minutes Helsingborg got their first chance, when striker Mattias Almeida got past on FCH’s right side, but another trialist, Michael Tørnes in goal, came out well and won the ball from the feet of the Helsingborg player.
After 13 minutes, Fredrik Roepsdorff came very close to giving FCH the lead when the ball dropped for the midfielder, who promptly shot from 20 meters out. But “Robbers” excellent effort hit the crossbar, and the fine shot drew applause from the roughly 500 spectators in attendance.
The match then entered a phase with many duels, but not many open chances, and a lot of wasted running in the two attacks.
After half an hour, the deadlock was broken. Today’s fourth trialist, Sebastian Avazini, carried the ball forward through the middle and went hard into the duel with Helsingborg goalkeeper Kalle Joelsson, who stormed out into the box to shut down the chance. Joelsson went down and managed to block the ball and the man, but the ball rebounded from the goalkeeper to Pierre Larsen, who calmly guided it into the net with a controlled finish
1-0 FC Helsingør
After 41 minutes, FCH were close again. Carl Lange pressed Kalle Joelsson high up the pitch and blocked the goalkeeper’s clearance. Lange played the ball back to Kristian Andersen, who took one touch too many and perhaps should have shot, but instead found Lange again on the edge of the box. The winger shot, but the ball went on the wrong side of the post and into the side netting.
A couple of minutes later it was equally close at the other end. Returning Rasmus Jönsson had slipped into the box, where a fine lobbed pass found him, but the attacker sent his shot just over the goal as he tried to beat Tørnes. A big chance for the Swedes, but no goal, and FC Helsingør could go into the break leading 1-0.
The second half began with a huge chance for Helsingborg. A Helsingborg player broke down the left flank in the 48th minute and was found by a fine pass from midfield. The ball was driven hard and low across the box, and up front it was alarmingly close to Almida getting a touch, but the striker was tackled at the last second by Martin Fisch, so the ball instead went out for a corner. From the ensuing corner, Max Mårtensson tried a cheeky backheel finish, which also did not produce a goal. But it was an attacking start by Helsingborg.
After that, the match returned to the pattern from the first half with plenty of fighting spirit but without the big open chances. After an hour, Daniel Jørgensen rose highest to meet a corner, but the defender headed a good distance over the goal.
After 71 minutes, Helsingborg finally played through. Mattias Almeida made a deep run and was found with a perfect through ball. Daniel Jørgensen tried to make a foul, but did not get to the Helsingborg striker, and Almeida was able to slot it past substitute Lukas Jensen, who had no chance in the FCH goal.
The next minute, FCH brought on Adnan Mohammad, Anders Holst, TK, Patrick Olsen and Melvin Frithzell in place of Elvang, Basse, Roepsdorff, Kristian Andersen and Pierre Larsen. A few minutes later it was close to paying off, when Carl Lange found Anders Holst on the edge of the box, but Holst fired well over.
The introduction of the “A-chain” did, however, give FC Helsingør a little more energy and power in attack, and the Helsingør side swarmed around the goal in this phase of the match, although they could not produce the decisive strike.
After 89 minutes, Melvin Frithzell made a good run through the middle and was played in perfectly by Patrick Olsen, but the Helsingborg defense managed at the last moment to disturb their Swedish colleague enough for the shot to go wide. Fine opportunity for Melvin.
Neither team could get a shot away in stoppage time, and the match therefore ended 1-1. But it had been decided in advance that a winner of the “Øresund Cup” had to be found, so the teams went straight to a penalty shootout.
Holst, Carl Lange, Patrick Olsen, Frederik Bay and TK all scored their penalties, and when Lukas Jensen saved from Sjöberg, FC Helsingør could call themselves winners of the first Øresund Cup, after a good friendly match and an entertaining evening at Helsingør Stadion.
FC Helsingør: Tørnes, Bay, Fisch, Jørgensen, Avazini, Lange, Roepsdorff, Basse, Andersen, Elvang, Pierre Larsen.
Substitutes: Lukas Jensen, Olsen, “TK” Køhler, Mohammad, Holst, Frithzell
Referee: Frida Nielsen.
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
