The boys from FC Helsingør faced local rivals FC Nordsjælland on Saturday afternoon in a friendly match at a freezing cold Farum Park. It ended in a defeat by 3-2, but it was certainly a match FCH could be proud of.
The coaching staff fielded two different lineups in the two halves, and especially in the first half Helsingør had the upper hand over Nordsjælland for long periods. Douglas made his debut, joined the play well, worked well in the first press, and had a good shot on target after fifteen minutes, which was however saved on the line.
FC Nordsjælland mostly looked for counterattacks, but their forwards were repeatedly caught offside, so they did not get much forward play in the first half hour. After 36 minutes Frederik Bay had a strong attempt from long range, but FCN goalkeeper Nicolai Larsen just managed to tip it over the goal.
But after 39 minutes, against the run of play and chances, it was FCN who went ahead. A quick move caught FC Helsingør's defense high up the pitch, and then Assante and Ibrahim Sadiq were able to combine for a hard, low finish from Sadiq, which sat right by the post.
1-0 FCN
From the start of the second half Helsingør changed almost the entire team, and whether that caused the unrest is hard to say, but after only ten minutes FCN had scored two more times. First it was former FCH player Mads Aaquist, who cleverly played the ball on with his heel in the six-yard box, so Johansson, unchallenged, could side-foot it in to 2-0, and four minutes later Rothmann made it 3-0 for FCN when he struck hard and low into the far corner.
So it looked as if the match was over, but the Helsingør players found an extra gear, got the lines sorted out, and started chasing what had been lost. First Patrick Olsen fired a beautiful, beautiful long-range shot in after just 70 minutes, and after 76 minutes he tried again. This time FCN keeper Vindahl saved it, but the shot fell to Melvin Frithzell, who connected first time and scored his first goal in the FCH shirt.
Right at the end Helsingør were close to 3-3, when a finish after some scrappy play hit FCN's crossbar, but they could not get any closer, and so it ended 3-2 after an entertaining match.
Starting line11 for the first half (3-4-3): Vaporakis, Jørgensen, S. Henriksen, Gregor, Bay, Basse, P. Olsen, Adnan, Mortensen, T. Christensen, Douglas
Starting line11 for the second half (3-4-3): Kappenberger, Fisch, Pascal, Malte, Matheus, P. Olsen, R. Olsen, Roepstorff, Holst, Frithzell, Stückler
