FC Helsingør were assured of fourth place in the regular season when they met a Skive side on Friday, who in turn could use every point in the battle against relegation. Skive’s pitch was sandy and heavy, and was torn up during the match, and combined with a very physical game from both teams, without the big chances, it was only logical that it ended in a 0-0 draw after 90 minutes.
The first ten minutes were a little cautious from both teams, and both midfields committed a fair number of fouls on the opposition. Frederik Juul took a proper knock after just under ten minutes, when a Skive player rammed his shoulder into the midfielder’s face, but Frederik Juul got back to his feet.
After a little under 12 minutes, Skive’s veteran striker Thomas Dalgaard broke through centrally, but at the last moment Philip Rejnhold managed to block Dalgaard’s run into the box before it became really dangerous.
In the 20th minute, FC Helsingør had been swarming around the Skive penalty area for a few minutes. Anders Holst received the ball some way outside the box and looked up for passing options. On the right side of the box, Lucas Haren had slipped in, and Holst found Haren with a fine chip, and Haren tried to first-time the ball into the net, but he did not really manage to make proper contact, and it went wide. Good build-up play from FCH.
Just before the half-hour mark, Nikolaj Hansen went in hard on a duel with Thomas Dalgaard, who fell to the ground in the FCH box. However, the referee waved it away, and Dalgaard did not get the penalty he appealed for.
A minute later, Lucas Haren got away down the right flank, and when he reached the box, he delivered a hard cross to the far side, where Nicklas Mouritsen had arrived. Mouritsen smashed the ball with a fine, sweeping shot from hip height, but the ball went wide, despite Mouritsen keeping the shot down.
In the 37th minute, Skive earned their first corner of the half, and it was dangerously played into the six-yard box, where Callum McCowatt, with the top of his hair, managed to flick the ball over the goal, just ahead of a Skive player. A fairly big chance for the home side.
There were no further major chances for either side for the rest of the first half, which was somewhat marked by the poor pitch and Skive’s defensive approach. That meant both teams could go into the break with a point in the bank, but the FCH players must also have felt that with a little more coolness in the crosses, dangerous chances were waiting for them in the second half.
However, from the start of the second half it was the home side who got off to the better start, and Skive had a couple of long-range efforts that did not cause Kevin Stuhr much trouble. We had to reach the 52th minute before FCH got their first big chance. A free kick from the left side of the pitch was sent centrally, where Nikolaj Hansen got his head to it, but the ball was just a little too far in front of Hansen, and his header went wide.
After 56 minutes, during which FC Helsingør had not had a shot on target, Morten Eskesen and the coaching staff took action and replaced Kjærgaard, Haren and McCowatt with Liam Jordan, Tonni Adamsen and David Boysen.
It gave
In the 66th minute, Skive’s Santos got through centrally, took one touch, and from a position on the left side of the box he blasted towards the far corner, but Kevin Stuhr was in the right place and could gather the ball. Skive’s best attempt so far.
A minute later, Nicklas Mouritsen was close to scoring against his old team. Philip Rejnhold played a low cross back into the box from the byline, and the ball went untouched all the way to Mouritsen, who came charging through centrally. The left-back smashed it with a thunderous effort, forcing Skive’s goalkeeper into a superb save right by the post, where he just managed to palm the ball past the post. A magnificent finish from the defender.
Five minutes later, Skive had a good chance when a ball into the box, after a bit of ping-pong, landed at the feet of a Skive player on the right side of the area, but the shot was blocked by Nicklas Mouritsen and never really became dangerous.
The game opened up a little in the final ten minutes, and both teams were looking for the goal, but two strong defenses and a poor pitch did little good for polished football, and chances repeatedly ran out into the sand.
But it was clear that FC Helsingør had more in mind than Skive as the match drew to a close, and the FCH players swarmed around the Skive area, with several good crosses, especially from Rejnhold and Norouzi. But the hard-bodied Skive players closed things down centrally, and the advantage did not pay off. Instead, it was Skive who applied pressure towards the end of the match.
Mads Agger of Skive had a huge chance after 86 minutes. Agger had been lurking among friends and foes in a crowded FCH box, and was ready when a somewhat lucky ball reached him. Agger fired towards the far corner, but Kevin Stuhr got all the way down to the base of the post and managed to palm the ball away. Big chance and a really good save from Ellegaard.
At the edge of stoppage time, Skive had another big chance when, amid a scramble, they first blocked a shot on the edge of the six-yard box, and from the rebound also shot straight at an FCH foot in the area.
A minute later, Agger was very, very close to heading the ball in from a good cross, but was just barely disrupted enough by Frederik Bay centrally for the ball to go wide.
Thus, a hard-playing and hard-fighting Skive side put an end to FCH’s winning streak, but FCH could still take comfort from a solid defensive performance, and from the fact that they remain unbeaten since the winter break. Now a two-week international break awaits before the top-six phase gets underway. The schedule for the first rounds will follow sometime during next week.
FCH: K. Stuhr Ellegaard, N. Mouritsen, N. Hansen, H.C. Bonnesen (84’ M. AInsalu), P. Rejnhold, D. Norouzi, F. Juul Christensen, A. Holst (73’ F. Bay), O. Kjærgaard (56’ D. Boysen) L. Haren (56’ T. Adamsen), C. McCowatt (56’ L. Jordan)
