FC Helsingør advanced to the second round of the cup, as fellow NordicBet Liga side HB Køge were sent home with a 2-1 defeat on a rainy Wednesday evening.
Only a minute had been played when debutant Oliver Rimmen won a corner. In front of goal, HB Køge goalkeeper Frederik Mehder misjudged the ball, and only a saving foot on the line prevented a dream start for FC Helsingør. It would prove to be the last big mistake the HB Køge goalkeeper made.
In the 11th minute, HB Køge got their first chance when old FCHer Pierre Larsen received a good pass out on the right side and cut in towards the box. As he reached the edge of the area, he struck for the far corner and got the ball past Christoffer Petersen in goal, but also past the post.
Three minutes later, Emilio Simonsen dribbled in from the left after picking up a loose ball and managed to beat two men in the FCH defence, but when Simonsen finished, he fortunately put the ball a little too wide and the shot hit the post.
After 22 minutes, Sebastian Czajkowski received the ball at his feet on the right side of the pitch. Czajkowski moved towards the byline, with Rasmus Marfeldt on his back. Marfeldt tried to stop Czajkowski's run, lost his balance and hit the advertising boards behind the goal, which the referee somewhat inexplicably judged as a yellow card for Sebastian Czajkowski, who also looked somewhat baffled by the booking.
After half an hour came the biggest chance so far. Daniel Norouzi tackled the ball forward to Alexander Lyng, who first-timed it through to Sebastian Czajkowski. Czajkowski came through the lines on the right side of the box and finished towards the far corner. Mehder saved at the last possible moment, and a centimetre before Buch Christiansen could reach it, Mehder got down and saved.
But two minutes later, it was no longer possible for the visitors. Alexander Lyng cut into the box, took a clever touch, and Kwabena Assinki took a firm grip on Lyng's shirt and dragged him to the ground. A clear penalty, which the referee promptly blew for. Sebastian Czajkowski was safe and sound from the penalty spot and put FCH ahead.
1-0 FC Helsingør
After 38 minutes, Mikkel Knudsen was close to making a dream debut, when he rose highest to a well-delivered corner from Daniel Norouzi, but his powerful header unfortunately went straight at Mehder.
The goal gave FC Helsingør a mental boost, and for the rest of the half it was the home side who pushed for a goal. But no further goals were scored, and the teams could go into the break with a narrow lead for FCH.
But only three minutes of the second half had been played before HB Køge drew level. A long ball forward ended up with Emilio Simonsen. Simonsen drove into the box, where Christoffer Petersen came out of goal and threw himself down to win the ball. But on the rain-soaked surface the ball slipped under Petersen's grasp and Simonsen could follow up himself and poke the ball the last stretch over the line.
1-1 HB Køge
In the 54th minute, Dalton Wilkins played a low ball into the box. In front of the small area, Lyng tried to finish but was blocked. The ball dropped down just behind Sebastian Czajkowski, who tried to chip the ball into the goal with a neat little flick. The opportunistic finish was close to fooling Mehder, but he managed to tip the ball past the post.
FC Helsingør succeeded in this phase of the match in applying good pressure on HB Køge, and both Sebastian Czajkowski and Peter Buch Christiansen had moves that led to dangerous finishes. But Frederik Mehder stood well in the HB Køge goal and made the save every time.
After 62 minutes, substitute Frederik Juul carried the ball forward through the middle and played Sebastian Czajkowski through. Czajkowski laid it off to Alexander Lyng, who cut into the box. Alone with Mehder and a defender, Lyng beat his marker and finished, but Mehder saved again, so Lyng's effort only hit the post.
After 72 minutes, FCH were frighteningly close. Sebastian Czajkowski won a header near the touchline and headed the ball on to Oliver Drost, who got free on the left side. Drost played it low and hard into the box, where Alexander Lyng slid into the ball, but once again Mehder managed to block the shot by the narrowest of margins. The HB Køge goalkeeper was a fine man for his team on the day.
Ten minutes later, it was close again. Mouritsen had come on at left back, and he made a good run up the pitch. From the edge of the box he played it in, and centrally Drost first and then Lyng tried to finish. Both were blocked, but the rebound fell to Liam Jordan, who from a tight angle unleashed a thunderous shot at goal. But Mehder somehow managed to save the shot over the goal.
A minute before full time, Mouritsen sent in a razor-sharp corner to the far post, where the ball was headed back across the box by an FCH player. In the small area, Drost rose highest and, for once, beat Mehder. But on the goal line itself, an HB Køge defender headed it away.
Neither team managed to score in normal time, so the teams had to prepare mentally for extra time.
In the first half of extra time, it was still FC Helsingør who tried most, while HB Køge sat very deep on the pitch. Therefore neither team came close to scoring, and the 537 spectators had to wait until the second half to celebrate a goal.
It did come, however, just a minute and a half after the restart. Assinki tried to play a ball across the box, but Liam Jordan was lightning quick to react and intercepted it. Alone with Mehder, Liam calmly slotted past the HB Køge goalkeeper, who at last had to give in in open play.
2-1 FC Helsingør
Both teams were marked by a huge work rate both ways, but 110 minutes into the match it was close to Czajkowski sealing the game. Alexander Lyng drove the ball forward after a long clearance and laid it off diagonally to Czajkowski, who shot from a tight angle. Czajkowski had put in a massive shift and could well have deserved a goal, but his fine shot hit the frame of the goal.
So the tension remained until the very end, but time ran out for HB Køge and FC Helsingør could note that they are still unbeaten in all competitions so far this season.
The next match is in the NordicBet Liga, and it is on Saturday, when we host Lyngby. Kick-off is at 13.00.
FCH: C. Petersen, D. Wilkins (’77 N. Mouritsen), F. Bay, B. Onkony (’45 F. Juul Christensen), M. Knudsen (90’ D. Krogh), D. Norouzi (’61 O. Kjærgaard), O. Rimmen, C. Lange (’50 O. Drost), A. Lyng, P. Buch Christiansen (’77 L. Jordan), S. Czajkowski
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
