A terrible start gave FC Helsingør’s boys an unfortunate defeat in the away match against Silkeborg IF. Less than two minutes into the match, SIF’s Davit Skhirtladze got a touch on a randomly created chance in the box, and the goal gave the home side an extra boost of energy, giving them an advantage that Helsingør’s players found difficult to overcome in the first half.
1-0 Silkeborg
The goal gave Silkeborg the opportunity to play intelligently and a little cautiously, whereas Helsingør were forced to chase an equaliser. That made for a somewhat unsettled match, especially in Helsingør’s midfield, and after about a quarter of an hour Silkeborg could again put the ball behind Mikkel Bruhn. Once again it was from a corner that the Georgian striker was able to get his head to the ball and safely put it in the net.
2-0 Silkeborg
FC Helsingør did not have their best day in many actions in the first half, and it only amounted to a few attempts, including a decent long-range chance for Mikkel Basse after just over half an hour.
But it was the home team that again struck, when the dangerous Robert Skov, just before the break, dribbled past two men, including Mikkel Bruhn, and with a fine solo effort put the ball away.
3-0 Silkeborg
Helsingør’s coaching staff reacted promptly at the start of the second half, bringing on Adnan Mohammad and Lucas Ohlander for Frederik Bay and Johannes Ritter.
Both substitutes showed good signs, and after 49 minutes Adnan came close to a huge chance, as he opportunistically chipped the ball over Silkeborg goalkeeper Thomas Nørgaard, but unfortunately the ball went just wide of the post.
The match was more evenly balanced in the second half, and both teams created decent chances. However, Silkeborg still had a slight edge, including two shots against the woodwork within five minutes. The Helsingør players had therefore been warned, and after 66 minutes Silkeborg put the final nail in the coffin when Stephan Petersen scored on a counterattack.
4-0. Silkeborg
Ten minutes from time, Helsingør reduced the deficit when a truly fine build-up from a hard-working André Riel and substitute Lucas Ohlander set Nicolas Mortensen free in the box, allowing the striker to score his first goal in the Alka Superliga.
4-1 FC Helsingør
Despite the defeat, Christian Lønstrup was relatively clear-headed:
We get off to a terrible start as we are caught on two corners. And then it is uphill in the first half. We do not seem ready, as you have to be at this level. It is only when they score to 2-0 that we begin to show a bit of readiness. And even so we go into the break down 3-0, so we choose to react from the bench and make two substitutions. The starting point for the second half was that we should not go out there and make fools of ourselves and “take too much water into the boat.” We managed to play 1-1, and the substitutes did really well. I noted that nobody gave up. I pay a lot of attention to our mental state in matches, especially when we are under pressure, and we reacted well. So in the second half it was fairly positive, but when you concede goals like we do today, you do not win football matches.
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
