The match started with a fine press from Helsingør, and already after five minutes captain Andreas Holm had a big headed chance after a sharp cross from Adnan Mohammad, who made his debut in the starting-11.
But then the match changed character, and when the home side after just 14 minutes played Ernest Assante clear for a one-on-one, the lightning-fast attacking player did not fail, and put the ball in behind an unprotected Mikkel Bruhn.
1-0 FC Nordsjælland.
For the rest of the first half the FC Helsingør players had trouble applying the necessary pressure on FCN, and after 31 minutes it went completely wrong when Martin Fisch got his arm on a ball in the box. Referee Jakob Kehlet immediately blew for a penalty, and scorer Assante stepped up to the ball. But fortunately for the Helsingør team, he placed the ball too far wide, and it went past the goal.
But it was generally a very difficult first half for Helsingør, and only strong goalkeeping from Bruhn, along with sheer willpower in defence, limited FCN's lead to 1-0 at the break.
In the second half the Helsingør players got more control of the build-up play, but still had trouble breaking through FCN's tight lines. Slowly, however, they built up a small advantage, and when the downpour that had broken out just after the break eased off after about fifteen minutes, it was FC Helsingør who came best out of the rain haze. Substituted Nicolas Mortensen brought renewed dynamism to the attacking play, and had a couple of good actions that, with slightly sharper runs into the box, could easily have led to goals.
In addition, the second half was marked by a number of hard duels and intensity from both teams, and referee Kehlet had to separate the cockerels from the two teams several times, as well as hand out a handful of yellow cards, including to Mikkel Basse, Andreas Holm and Anders Holst.
The biggest chance to steal a point came only in stoppage time, when Nicolas Mortensen pressed FCN goalkeeper Runasson into picking up a back pass. The referee correctly judged it as an indirect free kick, and almost all players from both teams gathered on the goal line. But Helsingør's André Riel unfortunately not only curled the ball over the wall, he also put a little too much on it in the finish, and the ball hit the crossbar. Thus ended a match in which both teams had been in control in one half each, with a narrow defeat for the home side.
Starting-11: Bruhn, S. Henriksen, Holm, Fisch, Olsen, Basse, Holst, Toby, Bay, Adnan, Riel
Substitutes: N. Mortensen, J. Henriksen, Ohlander.
