It ended in a narrow 0-1 defeat in Thursday’s match against the Superliga relegated side from Hobro. FC Helsingør had a large share of the play, and were the better team at times, but Hobro were a little sharper when it mattered.
However, it had not been more than a minute before Callum McCowatt came close for FC Helsingør. A dropped ball into the box landed perfectly at the feet of the New Zealander, who got his shot away, but the former FCH goalkeeper Adrian Kappenberger came out of the Hobro goal and blocked the effort.
On the ensuing corner, the ball sailed all the way over the cluster of players in front of goal, and Czajkowski was close to getting on the end of it at the far post. But the striker saw the ball too late and was unable to steer it in.
Two minutes later, Hobro had their first big chance, when a through ball forward found Babayan, who brought the ball well into the box. The defence and Kevin Stuhr could only half-clear, and from the rebound Mathias Haarup tried to turn it in at the far post, but his shot went wide.
It was FC Helsingør who dominated most of the first ten minutes, and when we reached the 12 minute mark, Anders Holst received a good cross-field pass from Nikolaj Hansen. Holst put in a good ball into the box, where Sebastian Czajkowski was very close to getting to the ball. But Czajkowski was well marked, and Hobro managed to clear for a corner to FCH, which, however, led to nothing.
A minute later Hobro broke away on a counter after a lost FCH ball, but Kevin Stuhr could block shots from Hobro’s attackers in two attempts, and then FCH could breathe again.
After 17 minutes it was FCH’s turn to break on a counter. Callum McCowatt won a ball in midfield and burst forward. When he reached Hobro’s box, however, he was closed down, so McCowatt took a good long-range shot from outside, which Kappenberger managed to punch away. The ball went out to the right, where Norouzi found Eli Just, who cut in on the edge of the box and let fly. The ball arced nicely toward the far corner, but unfortunately just wide.
Almost five minutes later it was Hobro who came close. Haarup delivered a good cross from the right side of the box, and inside Alexander Baun was centimetres away from heading it in, but Philip Rejnhold managed to bother Baun enough that he sent the header wide.
But in the 28th minute the visitors got on the scoreboard. FCH gave the ball away on a counter, and Babayan switched the play before the Helsingør players realised what was happening. He put a cross into the six-yard box, where Mads Hvilsom got in front of his man and, with a gentle outside-of-the-foot touch, guided the ball into the net, with Kevin Stuhr Ellegaard having little chance.
0-1 Hobro IK
Leading up to the break, FC Helsingør tried to press higher up the pitch, but became a little too hurried in their passing and gave away a few too many balls. At times there were signs of counterattacks from McCowatt and Czajkowski, but Hobro stood smartly and shut down the long passes.
So FC Helsingør went into halftime after 45 minutes, having started best, but especially after the goal had allowed the away side to work its way into the match.
The home side came out of the dressing room best. After almost four minutes of play, Callum McCowatt got through on the right side of the box, and after a small touch he struck hard and low toward the far corner. Kappenberger could only half-save it, but Hobro managed to clear before an FCH player could follow up.
After 54 minutes, McCowatt and Norouzi tried to dribble through, but Norouzi was brought down on the edge of the box. The referee whistled, and Anders Holst stepped up to the ball. Unfortunately, he sent his free kick straight into the face of a Hobro player in the wall.
Shortly after, Carl Lange had a big chance, as good passing play around the Hobro box ended with a low cross across the area, which Lange unfortunately failed to steer past Adrian Kappenberger, who was able to get down to the ball and save.
After 63 minutes Hobro had their biggest chance of the half. Hobro worked the ball up through the middle, and from the edge a Hobro player shot straight into the feet of an FCH defender. The rebound went out to Christian Cappis, who sent a sneaky shot toward goal. Kevin Stuhr, however, got down with a good reflex save and pushed the ball out to the right side of the box. There a Hobro attacker blasted the ball well over the goal, but did not need to regret it too much, as he was also offside.
After 67 minutes the coaching staff took the consequences of FCH struggling to create chances, and made three substitutions at once. Onkony, Haren and Bergqvist replaced Bay, Lange and Czajkowski.
That added a little more dynamism to the build-up play, and Teddy Bergqvist in particular was involved in a couple of good moves over the next ten minutes, although that did not really lead to clear chances. But Hobro had enough to do in this phase in terms of defending.
In the 79th minute, Boysen came on in place of McCowatt, and he had only been on the pitch for a couple of minutes before getting his first chance. A good move with Teddy Bergqvist ended with the Swede playing it square again to Boysen, who finished toward the far corner. But the shot unfortunately went just over the bar.
Toward the end of the match, Hobro largely allowed FC Helsingør to have the ball and settled for sitting deep and defending. This led to massive pressure from FCH, but it did not result in any clear chances, despite many balls into the box from both midfield and the wings.
But time ran out for FCH, and it was Hobro who could raise their arms when the referee blew for full time. Now a two-week international break awaits before the trip goes to Silkeborg on Saturday, the 21th of November.
FCH: K. Stuhr Ellegaard, F. Bay (’67 B. Onkony), N. Hansen, P. Rejnhold, A. Holst, C. Lange (’67 L. Haren), D: Norouzi (’84 O. Kjærgaard), F. Juul Christensen, E. Just, C. McCowatt (’79 D. Boysen), S. Czajkowski (’67 T. Bergqvist)
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
