FC Helsingør got the best possible start to the spring season, as Kolding IF were defeated on their own ground. On a difficult pitch, FC Helsingør made the most of two of many good chances, and could thus record both a win and a clean sheet in the frost-cold opening match.
The match started lively from both teams, but it was the home side from Kolding who got the first big chance. After five minutes, Kolding forced a corner. It was delivered into the small box, where both teams fought fiercely for the ball. After a bit of ping-pong around the area, FCH's defense finally managed to clear.
The pitch was actually very nice for the time of year, but had some areas that were more affected by winter than others, which led to some random situations when the players had trouble keeping their footing on the icy surface.
But in the 13th minute, there was nothing random about a fine goal from FC Helsingør. Frederik Juul Christensen had the ball on the right side of the pitch and sent in a sharp cross to the front where Oliver Kjærgaard was ready. The midfielder has just extended his contract, and celebrated it in the finest way by smashing the ball into the far corner, leaving Sebastian John in the Kolding goal with no chance.
0-1 FC Helsingør
In the 20th minute it was close again. Oliver Kjærgaard got the ball in the middle of the pitch and carried it forward. He found Carl Lange out on the left side at the edge of the box, and Lange cleverly played the ball on to Nicklas Mouritsen, who put in a good cross to the far post. Callum McCowatt tried to head it in there, but he couldn't quite direct the ball downward, and Sebastian John was able to catch the attempt.
Just two minutes later, FC Helsingør had another chance. After a Kolding corner, FCH won the ball just outside their own box and sent three men off on a counterattack. It was Carl Lange who carried the ball forward. He was, however, well shepherded by an aggressive Kolding defense, but even so Lange managed to get off a good shot, which Sebastian John could only parry. The goalkeeper did manage to get down to the ball before Tonni Adamsen could reach it and prevent yet another goal.
Towards the half-hour mark, FC Helsingør took more control of the game and succeeded well in moving the ball around the press and putting pressure on Kolding when they had the ball. This also meant there was more time between the big chances, and that both teams committed a number of fouls.
Towards the end of the half, Kolding did manage to push a little higher up again and worked themselves into a couple of corners, but they did not create any major opportunities. A good counterattack chance for Tonni Adamsen just before the halftime whistle was not taken advantage of as it should have been, and FC Helsingør could therefore go into the break with a fine, but slightly too small 1-0 lead.
The second half began with good pressure from FC Helsingør, and it had not been more than three minutes before the visitors got their first big chance. Daniel Norouzi delivered one of his good corners, and up front Sebastian John came close to dropping the ball so that Callum McCowatt could steer it in, but in the very last moment John got down over the ball and prevented FC Helsingør from getting the best possible start to the second half of the match.
After 53 minutes of play, Kolding won the ball after a not-so-good FCH corner and launched a dangerous counterattack. Anders Holst sacrificed himself and stepped in to grab Christian Kudsk, who otherwise would have been through on goal alone. Yellow card to Holst, who prevented a dangerous situation.
Soon after, Oliver Kjærgaard was incredibly close again, when a Kolding player missed his intervention in midfield and Kjærgaard could break toward goal. He was, however, pressured by a Kolding player, but still managed to send off a dangerous shot from a position on the right side of the box. The fine effort was however just tipped over by Sebastian John, and crashed off the crossbar and out of play.
In the 58th minute, Tonni Adamsen was so close. He got the ball just outside the box and cut across the pitch, and even though it seemed he was marked, he still managed to curl a good shot around Sebastian John, but unfortunately also just wide of the goal.
A minute later, Kolding got their first big chance, as the home side broke down the right flank. A good cross was played centrally, where one of Kolding's forwards got highest and headed toward the far post. But Kevin Stuhr reacted lightning fast and got down all the way out by the post, where he was able to catch the header. A superb action by the FCH goalkeeper.
In the 64th minute, FC Helsingør made two changes. Lucas Haren and Liam Jordan came on in place of Oliver Kjærgaard and Tonni Adamsen. It had not been more than a couple of minutes before Lucas Haren ran past his marker, who had to stretch to prevent the cross and conceded a corner. Daniel Nourozi took it, and up front he found FCH's new man in central defense Nicolai Geertsen. Geertsen jumped higher than everyone else and hammered the ball past Sebastian John with a magnificent header, extending FCH's lead.
0-2 FC Helsingør
The goal lit a spark in the home side, who pushed their press further up the pitch over the next quarter of an hour. FC Helsingør had plenty to do defensively, but at the same time the forwards were constantly lurking, hoping to spring the counterattack that could finally kill the game. A tired Callum McCowatt, who had battled like a lion for 80 minutes, was replaced by David Boysen, who was to run the last ten minutes plus stoppage time.
In the 89th, Kolding's Adam Jacobsen won the ball in midfield and broke away on yet another counterattack. He made it all the way into the FCH box, but he never got completely free, and despite a decent shot Kevin Stuhr was able to keep his eye on him and saved it without too much trouble. In stoppage time, Frederik Bay came on instead of Carl Lange, who had also worked extremely hard throughout the match. Right at the end, David Boysen was sent off on a counter run, and together with Liam Jordan he broke through two against one. Boysen played Jordan at exactly the right moment, but alone with Sebastian John, Liam Jordan came up short, and it remained 0-2, and FC Helsingør could thus record three very important points in the effort to put the bottom teams behind them and aim for the top six.
FCH: K. Stuhr Ellegaard, N. Mouritsen, N. Hansen, N. Geertsen, A. Holst, D. Nourozi, F. Juul Christensen, C. Lange (90’ F: Bay), O. Kjærgaard (64’ L. Jordan), T. Adamsen (64’ L. Haren), C. McCowatt (80’ D. Boysen)
