FC Helsingør got the perfect start to life in the NordicBet League, as Fremad Amager were defeated 3-1 in the season opener. The first half in particular was of very, very high quality, while the second half was somewhat more affected by the warm weather, and the 3-0 lead the home side took into the break.
It was, however, Fremad Amager who had the game’s first big chance after four minutes. Fremad won a corner, and in the middle of the box an Amager player rose highest, but fortunately the chance was headed over the goal. FC Helsingør launched a quick counterattack after the header chance, and a long ball was played up toward Douglas, who flicked it on to Matheus. The Brazilian got in front of his marker and carried the ball into the box, where he coolly beat Fremad Amager’s goalkeeper and placed the ball into the far corner after just four and a half minutes of play.
1-0 FC Helsingør
After ten minutes, it was very close to going wrong for the home side. Fremad’s Lukas Engel got away on a through ball and was alone with Mikkel Bruhn. He rounded the FCH goalkeeper and sent the ball toward the empty net, but Andreas Holm came back at the very last second and heroically cleared the ball over the byline with a superb recovery run. A huge chance for Fremad Amager, and FCH were a little lucky not to be 1-1 in that situation.
The match then entered a phase in which FC Helsingør pressed on, and Amager had plenty to do defensively. Douglas’ physicality in particular caused problems for the Fremad players, and there were several promising situations, without FCH being able to put the ball away.
Just past the half-hour mark, FCH got the next big chance. Adnan got the ball in the middle and carried it forward himself. He finished with a fine strike, but the shot was blocked by a Fremad foot. From the resulting corner, it was centimeters away from both Holm and Daniel Jørgensen getting a touch, but the ball traveled all the way through the box.
Five minutes passed. Then Matheus scored again, with a goal that should be in contention for goal of the year, even though only half a season had been played. The Brazilian won the ball himself on the right side after a corner, cut inside toward the box, rolled the ball around himself and fooled a defender, got into the box, dribbled past another defender, and calmly placed the ball into the far corner. A goal of utterly extraordinary quality, and the stadium responded with a standing ovation and goosebumps.
2-0 FC Helsingør
Just before the break, FC Helsingør also went to 3-0. Daniel Jørgensen started at left back in today’s match, and he repaid the trust by playing a good game. It was therefore also him who got forward down the flank in the 44th minute, and the big defender delivered a perfect ball into the box with a low cross, which Nicolas Mortensen only had to put a foot to. A textbook move.
3-0 FC Helsingør.
The second half also started with Brazilian tricks. This time it was Douglas who dribbled past two men from the right side of the box, but his finish went just over the goal.
Fremad Amager tried to apply a bit of pressure and won a couple of corners that never really became dangerous. On the second corner, it was instead FC Helsingør who became dangerous. Matheus got hold of the ball on the left side and set off up the touchline. He played the ball perfectly to Adnan Mohammad, who cut inside and toward goal. Matheus had run through as well, but Adnan had seen that Nicolas Mortensen had made the long run on the right wing, and he laid on an excellent diagonal pass to the former Fremad Amager striker. Nicolas Mortensen, however, could not keep the shot down, even though he was completely free, and he therefore did not double his goal tally. A big chance for Mortensen.
After an hour, a patient build-up was almost enough for another goal. Fisch found Matheus centrally. He played the ball forward and laid it off to Adnan on the edge of the box. Adnan found an onrushing Nicolas Mortensen centrally, and a Fremad player got a touch to the ball in front of Mortensen at the last moment. But the goalkeeper was not quite on the same page, and it was very close to Mortensen getting a toe to the ball.
A few minutes later, Fremad Amager reduced the deficit. The ball was carried forward down the left flank by Lukas Engel, and up front Mads Gabel had sneaked in. He got just ahead of the FCH defense on the cross and directed the ball into the goal.
3-1 Fremad Amager
Over the next twenty minutes or so, FC Helsingør dropped a little deeper and were content to defend the lead. Anders Holst and Pierre Larsen came on in place of Adnan and Nicolas Mortensen, and Pierre in particular was involved well, applying a high press on the Fremad Amager defense, without FCH creating the really big chances.
After 82 minutes, Patrick Olsen had a good chance when he finished with a fine long-range shot, but the shot just narrowly sailed over the goal.
Four minutes later, FC Helsingør broke on a counterattack. Anders Holst carried the ball forward from his own half and played a nice ball in behind for Pierre. But the returning attacker ended up too far out on the left side of the box, and a Fremad Amager player was able to shut down the finish.
In the final minutes, 19-year-old Carl Lange was brought on for his FCH debut, and it was very close to him crowning his debut with a goal, as Matheus whipped in a ball from the right side, but the young winger mistimed his header, although he had otherwise run free.
On the breakaway, Fremad Amager hit the post with a good shot, but they got no closer. FC Helsingør could therefore record a perfect start to life in the First Division with a comfortable 3-1 victory.
FCH: Bruhn, Jørgensen, Gregor, Holm, Fisch, Matheus, “TK” Køhler, Olsen, Mohammad, Douglas, Mortensen
Substitutes: Larsen, Holst, Lange
Photo: Claus Birch, clausbirch.dk
