FC Helsingør came close to the perfect spring opener, as Brønshøj were sent home with a 4-1 defeat, and the Helsingør side got revenge for the defeat away to Brønshøj in the autumn. The only sour note was a sending-off for Daniel Norouzi, which will almost certainly, at a minimum, give the little midfield warrior a suspension for the next match.
FC Helsingør’s first good chance came after just three minutes, when Jonas Henriksen made a run down the right side and, in two attempts, managed to send in a good cross in front of goal. Carl Lange got to the ball, but his shot was blocked.
Two minutes later it was Lucas Haren’s turn to shake off his marker on the right side. He laid the ball back calmly at an angle, where Jonas Henriksen had run into the edge of the box centrally. Henriksen shot first time, but straight at goalkeeper Kasper Vilfort in the Brønshøj goal. Jonas Henriksen celebrated his 29th birthday with a match day, and played a fine game at right back.
Just before ten minutes had been played, Haren was at it again. He cleverly beat his marker with a couple of dribbles and ran away from him. Haren sent in a curling cross around Brønshøj’s central defense, and right in front of goal it was only centimeters away that Nicolas Mortensen could slide into the ball, but the striker was just a little too short to steer the ball into the net.
Over the next ten minutes Brønshøj came a little more into the game, and had a bit more of the ball, without really becoming dangerous because of it. FC Helsingør were looking to launch a counterattack, and on a couple of occasions it was close to Nicolas Mortensen getting away, but Brønshøj’s defense was alert and cleared the danger.
But two minutes later FCH broke the deadlock. Nicolas Mortensen was involved in a physical battle in the box, and Brønshøj tackled the ball over the end line. Norouzi took the corner, played it short back to Haren, who crossed the ball into a larger cluster of players in the six-yard box. There Nicolaj Hansen rose highest and headed the ball into the net via the crossbar. A classic set-piece goal, and well set up by Norouzi and Haren
1-0 FC Helsingør
The minute after, the whole stadium erupted as Haren dribbled past four men on a postage stamp in front of the Brønshøj goal. Haren was eventually tackled, but had found Mortensen before then, and he calmly put the ball in. Unfortunately for the fantastic move, Mortensen had just been on the wrong side of the offside trap, and the referee’s raised flag ended the celebration.
Instead, it was Brønshøj who struck back after 27 minutes of play. A ball was played from Kevin Stuhr and out to the right side, where captain Holm wanted to lay it back to the goalkeeper. But on the rain-soaked pitch the ball did not gain enough speed, and Brønshøj’s Mads Rønne intercepted it. Ellegaard had come out of his goal to receive the ball, and Rønne could calmly place the ball into the far corner from a tight angle.
1-1 Brønshøj
Shortly after, FC Helsingør made it even harder for themselves, when Daniel Norouzi went in with a risky tackle in the middle of the pitch. He hit his opponent and a bit of pushing and shoving broke out, and the Brønshøj players immediately surrounded the referee with loud protests. The referee gave two Brønshøj players yellow cards for the protests, but had not forgotten Norouzi, who was sent off with a straight red card.
With 35 minutes on the clock, however, it was FC Helsingør, down to ten men, who tried to strike back. Nicolas Mortensen received the ball on the left side of the Brønshøj box and dribbled toward the byline. There a Brønshøj defender stuck a leg out against Mortensen in the battle for the ball, but the referee waved play on, despite protests from both the home team’s players and fans. It looked very much like a penalty, but it was not given and FCH had to go into halftime with 1-1 on the board.
Although Brønshøj had the extra man, they started the second half cautiously, and FCH had to fight for every ball in midfield. There were long stretches between chances, but the Helsingør players slowly but surely pushed the pressure further up the pitch.
After 55 minutes the hard work paid off, and FCH went ahead. After a corner for FCH had been cleared, the ball ended up with Thomas “TK” Kristensen, who had been substituted on for Anders Holst in connection with Norouzi’s sending-off. TK played one of his trademark diagonal balls from the right side of the pitch. The ball flew to the far post, where it was laid across by Andreas Holm. In front of goal, Nicolas Mortensen fought a brave battle for the ball with two Brønshøj players and managed to bundle the ball over the line. A fine goal, created by TK’s excellent cross-field ball.
2-1 FC Helsingør
The goal woke the Brønshøj players a little, and the next ten minutes were marked by physical battles in midfield and plenty of duels, where neither team could really gain the upper hand.
After 67 minutes, however, FCH were close to another goal. HC “Kritte” Bonnesen played today’s match in an unusual position at left back, and he had pushed up to the Brønshøj box. There he won the ball from a Brønshøj player and drove into the box. He then beat another man and struck powerfully at goal. But Vilfort was alert and saved the shot. A good move by the young defender, although he might perhaps have made the chance bigger with a pass to a teammate rather than a shot from a tight angle.
Five minutes later it was no longer possible for Brønshøj. Nicolas Mortensen received the ball from Jonas Henriksen, who played a lovely curling pass forward to the striker. Mortensen cut into the box and a Brønshøj defender went hard into his back. The referee promptly blew for a penalty. Nicolas Mortensen took it himself and smashed it high into the net, with no chance for Vilfort in goal.
3-1 FC Helsingør
In the 82th minute, Brønshøj were also reduced to 10 men, as Jaques Sørensen received his second yellow card of the match after a slightly too hard tackle on an FCH player on the slippery pitch.
Two minutes later Fredrik Christensen was close. Carl Lange dribbled into the box, but ran into a dead end. Instead he played it back to Christensen, who struck decisively from distance, but Kasper Vilfort got down and tipped the ball around the post with the tips of his fingers. Frederik Christensen played a good game in central midfield, and he was close to crowning his effort with a goal.
In the 87th minute, FCH put the icing on the cake. A Brønshøj player played the ball backward to a teammate, but Hans Christian “Kritte” Bonnesen quickly tackled the ball away from his opponent and drove toward goal. He had Nicolas Mortensen centrally, and goalkeeper Vilfort clearly did not know whom to pick up. Kritte ruthlessly exploited the Brønshøj mistake and put the ball into the net himself.
4-1 FC Helsingør
After that there was no more in the tank for the Brønshøj players, and FC Helsingør could calmly control the match home in front of the 908 wildly enthusiastic spectators, in an almost perfect spring opener.
FCH: K. Stuhr Ellegaard, J. Henriksen, A. Holm. N. Hansen, HC “Kitte” Bonnesen, D. Norouzi, F. Christensen, L. Haren (’79 R. Olsen), C. Lange, A. Holst (’36 “TK” Kristensen), N. Mortensen (’87 T. Bergqvist)
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
