In a hard but fairly played match, FC Helsingør earned a point in the season's first draw. It was an entertaining clash with AGF in Aarhus, marked by strong goalkeeping performances and, at times, entertaining football with big chances.
It was AGF who started best, and the home side began by putting the visitors from Helsingør under high pressure. After barely five minutes AGF had a big chance from a corner that was flicked on in the box, but FCH managed to clear for a throw-in.
AGF continued to press and had several situations where they worked their way to the FCH box, without it really becoming dangerous. The closest they came was a low cross from Martin Spelmann into the box that lay right in front of Mikkel Bruhn, but fortunately none of AGF's attackers had got into the box.
Helsingør mostly looked for counters, and Adnan Mohammad in particular got off to a good start, but AGF's defence stood strong, and it was difficult to find space between the lines in the first quarter of an hour.
After 17 minutes Helsingør had their first shot. Good build-up on the right wing between Ricki Olsen and ”Toby” Christensen got the midfielder facing forward and at speed, but Toby's effort unfortunately hit a foot in the box and went over the byline. Still, a fine attempt from Tobias Christensen, who got the chance from the start on the right wing, as Anders Holst had to pull out of the match with an injury.
With 25 minutes on the clock, former Helsingør player André Riel was close to doing damage to his old club. After a corner at the AGF end, the home side broke on a counter, and Riel deftly laid the ball back to Dino Mikanovic, who played a quick one-two, and Riel was alone with Mikkel Bruhn on the right side of the box, but the Helsingør goalkeeper saved with a magnificent foot block.
31 minutes played. FC Helsingør won a corner. The ball dropped into the box, and after a scramble Daniel Stückler got a long toe to it. The ball trickled all the way to the line before Steffen Rasmussen got the fingertips to it at the very last moment and pushed the ball onto the post. One centimetre from a Helsingør goal!
The very next moment AGF got away down their right wing again, and a sharp cross was only a few centimetres away from finding Daniel A. Pedersen, but he just barely missed the ball.
Five minutes later most of Aarhus Stadium rose in jubilation as the home side put the ball into the Helsingør box from a free kick, where Nicklas Backman headed it into the net. But to the visitors' relief the striker was offside, and the goal was correctly disallowed.
Just before the break the ball found Tobias Christensen just outside the AGF box, and he saw that Steffen Rasmussen was out of his goal and struck firmly. It was only by the tips of his fingers that the AGF keeper got back and tipped the effort over the crossbar. From the ensuing corner Daniel Jørgensen got highest, but the big defender could not get the ball fully down, and it again drifted over the crossbar. But a good finish to the half for FC Helsingør.
AGF took the initiative from the start of the second half, and again pressed FCH high, as they had done at the start of the first half. However, the Helsingør players were solid in their lines, and AGF struggled to become really dangerous.
The match swung back and forth in the first quarter of an hour of the second half, without either side becoming truly dangerous. It was not until after the hour mark that Helsingør got another shot away. Again it was a scramble in the box after a corner that became dangerous. Both Ricki Olsen and Daniel Stückler got to the ball, but in a hard fight in the box they could not shove the ball those final centimetres over the line.
Two minutes later AGF's Mustapha Bundu was very close when the ball, after a strong Spelmann counter-attack, dropped to his feet after Daniel Jørgensen cleared Spelmann's cross out of the box, but the attacking player fortunately did not connect properly and it sailed harmlessly over the goal.
After 67 minutes it was Junker's turn to become dangerous, as a low cross from Bundu found him free in the box. He smashed at the ball, which was heading for the roof of the net, but Mikkel Bruhn stretched out fully and tipped the ball over. It was burning for FCH at this stage.
During the next ten minutes FCH managed to move the game a little further up the pitch and the Helsingør side also worked their way to a couple of corners, as well as a couple of throw-ins in the box, but without it really becoming dangerous.
84 minutes had been played when AGF again became dangerous. A long ball travelled across the box and ended up at Morten Duncan Rasmussen's feet, but the most prolific scorer in Superliga history pulled the trigger before he had control, and the ball flew well over the goal.
A minute later FC Helsingør had perhaps the biggest chance of the match so far. Matheus got away on the right wing and delivered a low cross into the box. Nicolas Mortensen reached the ball, but did not hit it cleanly, and the shot struck the post instead of going in. A huge chance missed.
A minute later Stückler also had a big opportunity as the ball fell to him in the AGF box, but he had to turn his body awkwardly and the ball went over. Good FCH minutes towards the end.
Right at the end, however, it was close to going wrong when AGF perhaps with some justification felt robbed of a penalty as Mustafa Amini was brought down in the box, but referee Anders Poulsen's whistle stayed silent.
That meant FCH could head home to Helsingør with a point and a very good match in the bag.
FC Helsingør: Bruhn, R. Olsen, Bay, Jørgensen, S. Henriksen, Mohammad, Christensen, Basse, P. Olsen, Mortensen, Stückler
Substituted in: Leiria
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
