FC Helsingør advanced in the cup with a solid 2-0 victory over Slagelse at Harboe Arena. It was a match that in every sense had two very different halves. In the first, FC Helsingør were clearly the better side. The second half was more physical, and not particularly well played by either team, but the result was never in doubt.
However, only a minute had been played when goalkeeper talent Viktor Anker, who started in goal today, had to show his skills. A through ball went all the way through the FCH defense to a Slagelse player who was through on goal alone, but Anker came out well from his goal and blocked the shot halfway with his hip and halfway with his arm. A strong save by the debuting goalkeeper.
After six minutes it was FCH's turn to create a big chance. Anders Holst found Nicolas Mortensen with an excellent through ball, but the linesman flagged for a somewhat dubious offside. Good play by Holst.
Just under a quarter of an hour in, FC Helsingør took the lead. Patient play around the box for a couple of minutes ended with Bay getting the ball between two Slagelse defenders. The full-back drove toward the byline, and by nutmegging both of his markers, he found Carl Lange in front of goal, who calmly fired the ball past Slagelse's goalkeeper.
1-0 FC Helsingør
The match was affected by the heat, and FC Helsingør moved the ball around nicely, keeping the Slagelse players away from it. After half an hour, Frederik Roepsdorff apparently got tired of the stalemate, because he took the chance from 30 meters with a cannonball of a long-range strike that hit the underside of the crossbar and bounced down just over the line before the ball went back into play. But fortunately the linesman was alert and ruled the shot in.
0-2 FC Helsingør
Shortly after, Slagelse's Frederik Christensen got free in the FCH box on a cross, but he got ahead of himself and did not strike the ball properly, and Bay was then able to block the ensuing shot. A big chance for Slagelse's 10er.
That was the last big chance of the half, and FC Helsingør could then go into the dressing room with a 2-0 lead and a half in which one had clearly been able to see the difference between the top of the First Division and a promoted side in the Second Division for long stretches.
The second half started with high Slagelse pressure in the first five minutes, after which FCH managed to push the game higher up the pitch, without it really leading to big chances for either team. We thus reached almost an hour of play before FCH bit back in the Slagelse box again. Again it was Lange and Bay who combined well, but the Slagelse defense cleared before Bay's cross could find a man in the box. Shortly after, Elvang had a good shot that just went the wrong side of the post. Good signs from Helsingør in this phase.
Slagelse tried to get back into the game by increasing the physical play. It disrupted FC Helsingør's rhythm a bit, and the match was not especially pretty. Neither team could play through the opponent's lines, and there were many fouls, especially from the Slagelse players.
In the 88th minute, Elvang found substitute Adnan Mohammad on the left wing when FC Helsingør finally managed to launch a counterattack. Adnan clipped a lovely lob after the long corner, but unfortunately the shot sailed just wide. A fine opportunity, and the first of its kind in a long time.
In stoppage time, Slagelse's no. 10 Frederik Christensen received his second yellow card and had to go for an early shower. That was also the most eventful thing that happened until referee Benjamin Svedborg blew for full time. A good first half by FC Helsingør, and a second half that was a little more "a day at the office".
FCH: Anker, Bay, Fisch, Jørgensen, Henriksen, Roepsdorff, Basse, Lange, Holst, Elvang, Mortensen.
Substitutes: Adnan Mohammad.
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
