After just seven minutes, the good play paid off, as Adnan Mohammad attempted a shot that was blocked, but the ball found Anders Holst on the edge of the box, and without hesitation he curled the ball toward the far corner beyond goalkeeper Jovanovic’s reach.
1-0 FC Helsingør.
Afterwards Helsingør moved the ball nicely around, while AGF had difficulty becoming dangerous. But after just over 20 minutes, AGF’s Sana found a gap in the marking and got away in behind. He did not fail, and with a clinical finish he brought AGF back into the match
1-1 AGF
The goal gave AGF blood in their teeth, but it was more a bizarre mishap than good play that led to the Jutlanders’ opening goal. An harmless free kick hit something in the pitch, and the ball’s bounce deceived Mikkel Bruhn, and it sailed over him. A completely free Junker could roll the ball into the net.
2-1 AGF
FC Helsingør was not beaten, and did not give up. And after 35 minutes Anders Holst had another shot, of the kind where fans and media afterward could be heard talking about how it could have changed the course of the match. After a good move up the pitch, the attacking player received the ball in almost the same spot as where he had previously scored from, but this time his curled shot was a single centimeter too wide, and bounced off the post back into play.
Nicolas Mortensen had a good shot from distance shortly after, but his low drive went just past the angle of the post and bar.
Just before the half-time whistle from referee Sandi Putros, AGF managed instead to extend their lead. An unruly Kasper Junker got away on a counterattack and beat Morten Hegaard with a feint, and could then finish safely into the opposite corner.
3-1 AGF
Just two minutes after the start of the second half, AGF were close again. A clever free-kick combination ended with a flick-on, but fortunately the shot ended up with Mikkel Bruhn.
But ten minutes into the half, things went wrong again. From a corner, Morten Duncan did what Morten Duncan does best, and got highest in the box. The veteran headed the ball into the net, unstoppable for Mikkel Bruhn.
4-1 AGF
The goal drained hope from most of the Helsingør fans in the stands, even though FCH’s players, as usual, refused to give up. Daniel Stückler was brought on and came in with good energy and physical presence, and Adnan Mohammad continued his raids down the flank, though unfortunately they rarely became dangerous, as AGF could put many men behind the ball and play on the counter.
It was also on a counterattack that AGF definitively closed the match after 68 played minutes. Former FCH player André Riel, who had been substituted on in the second half, and winger Jacob Ankersen both got away behind Helsingør’s high defensive line, and it was just a question of which of the two would score. It ended with Jacob Ankersen taking the shot himself, and he scored confidently.
5-1 AGF
After that AGF could slow the tempo and run down the clock, and in the remaining minutes only one big chance for Riel added a little spice to the match. However, the striker shot past the post.
Neither team managed to score again, and then FCH’s fans could breathe a sigh of relief as the final whistle went, and instead look ahead to the next match. This one was not worth remembering.
FC Helsingør: Bruhn, Fisch, Hegaard, Henriksen, Köhler, Olsen, Mohammad, Holst, Leiria, Mortensen.
Substitutes: Stückler, Basse
Referee: Sandi Putros
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
