It was the home side from HIK that started the match best. FC Helsingør tried to build play with short passes and good ball circulation, but HIK sat wisely in their lines and cut across the FCH passes several times, with a couple of half-dangerous counterattacks as a result, but they fizzled out when they reached around Helsingør’s penalty area.
We had to wait until the 9th minute before the first shot came. HIK’s Julius Lip took the ball down cleverly with his heel on a long forward pass, and shot from the edge of the box. Ricki Olsen, however, got across the hard shot, and the ball sailed out of the box again.
After a quarter of an hour, FCH got their first chance. Jeppe Kjær brought down a long ball past his marker and sent in a good cross into the box. In front of goal, Anders Holst was not far from being able to head toward goal, but the ball went a few centimeters over the winger’s head. Frederik Bay had joined the attack and tried to shoot first time from the left side of the box, but he miscued his effort, which went to an HIK player.
After 17 minutes Daniel Norouzi won the ball just outside HIK’s box and drove toward the byline. An HIK player tried to shield the ball out, but Norouzi kept it in at the last second and was tackled by his marker, who took both man and ball. The referee, however, waved play on, and FCH had to settle for a corner that came to nothing.
With 23 minutes on the clock, Nicolas Mortensen brought down a ball beautifully. He laid it off to Anders Holst, who played it across to Lucas Haren on the right side, who was charging forward. Haren tried a first-timer, but failed to make proper contact and the ball sailed wide. Good build-up play from FCH’s attack.
FCH pressed in this period, and as we passed the half-hour mark, the visitors broke the deadlock. After a corner from Daniel Norouzi, Nikolaj Hansen headed toward the far corner. There was some confusion about who actually scored, but after the match it was established that it was Nicolas Mortensen who got the final touch.
0-1 FC Helsingør
And a little under two minutes later it was 2-0. Lucas Haren wrong-footed his man on the right side. HIK were out of balance, and inside the box Anders Holst could run unmarked into the six-yard box and place the ball past HIK goalkeeper Sebastian Sørensen.
0-2 FC Helsingør
The goal took a little of the wind out of the home side, and it was FC Helsingør who controlled play until the break. Several times the visitors came close to getting through, and HIK had to work hard to keep FCH out of the box. Nothing else happened in the half, though, and FCH could go into the break with a fine 2-0 lead.
In the second half, HIK had the first shot. After a couple of minutes Andreas Smed got away on a counterattack, and under heavy pressure from Nikolaj Hansen he managed to send a shot toward goal, though it went a good way over the bar. A minute later HIK won a free kick a few meters outside FCH’s box after a couple of hard duels. Smed stepped up to the ball, but again sent it well over the goal.
Six minutes into the half, FCH had the first big chance. After an FCH corner had been cleared out of the box, Daniel Norouzi won the ball and made a good run. He sent the ball in front of goal, where it was very close to Nicolas Mortensen being able to direct it into the net. But the hat-trick hero from the last match was well marshaled and had to watch his shot blocked. Big chance for FC Helsingør.
After an hour of play, HIK got a good opportunity. An FCH move was broken up on FC Helsingør’s right side, and the ball was played to Andreas Smed, who shot from distance. His dangerous shot dipped toward the corner, but Christoffer Petersen was alert and saved it.
Five minutes later, however, it was the visitors from Helsingør who extended the lead. Lucas Haren forced a corner with an opportunistic run into the box, and Daniel Norouzi delivered a perfect ball to the near post, where Jonas Henriksen rose highest and headed it unchallenged past Sebastian Sørensen.
0-3 FC Helsingør
After 70 minutes Nicolas Mortensen was close again. Jeppe Kjær beat a man on the left edge of the box. He found Haren, who played first time into Mortensen. Mortensen rose highest, and his powerful header hit the crossbar. Good build-up again from FCH.
Two minutes later Lucas Haren himself was close. A quick counter sent the ball to Kjær, who laid it across to Lucas, who tried to curl it into the corner from the edge of the box, but it had just a little too much on it and went over the goal.
But after 78 minutes HIK pulled one back. A sharp counterball was played forward to HIK’s Andreas Lissau, who controlled it superbly and pulled away from the FCH defense. Christoffer Petersen was caught in the box and could do nothing about Lissau’s hard finish
1-3 HIK
The goal gave HIK a bit of momentum, and they tried to put pressure on FCH toward the end of the match. It led to a bit more play around the FC Helsingør box, and the FCH defense had to clear their lines several times. The coaching staff brought on Andreas Holm instead of Ricki Olsen with five minutes left to stabilize the defense.
With two minutes left of normal time, HIK had a huge chance to reduce the deficit further, as a cross into the box dropped to the feet of an HIK player, who struck it first time. The stadium held its breath, but the shot was blocked almost on the line. HIK, however, kept up the pressure, and FCH had their hands full clearing the ball out of the box as the match moved into added time.
In the dying minutes of stoppage time, HIK won a corner from fifteen meters outside the FCH box and sent everyone forward. But on the set piece it was Christoffer Petersen who came up big, and he gathered the ball without any fuss. Thus FCH could again leave the pitch with a win, as the referee soon after blew for full time and confirmed that they remain unbeaten.
FCH: Petersen, Bay, Henriksen, Olsen (Holm 85’), Holst, Christensen, Norouzi, Haren (Lange 81’)Kjær (Douglas ’75), Mortensen
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
