After Friday’s match, AB sits at number one until the restart in March following their 5-1 victory over FC Helsingør at Helsingør Ny Stadion.

FC Helsingør took the lead after 18 minutes with a goal by Sebastian Slettegaard Petersen. Noah Engell equalized from the penalty spot and Jonathan Mathys put AB ahead 2-1, which was also the halftime score. In the second half, Marcus Immersen scored to make it 3-1, Frederik Lindgaard scored for 4-1, and Marco Ramkilde scored to make it 5-1 from the penalty spot. That was five different goalscorers, showing how many strings AB has to their bow.

AB’s Lineup

The coaching team had made a change at the goalkeeper position. Nicholas Christoffersen, who played a good match, replaced Adam Ingi Benediktsson. Otherwise, it was the same starting lineup as in last week’s victory over Vendsyssel.
The formation was therefore with Nicholas Christoffersen in goal, Frederik Lindgaard at right-back, Adrien Koudelka and Marc Dal Hende in central defense, and Tobias Damtoft at left-back. In central midfield were Marco Vesterholm and Mikkel Brund, with O’Vonte Mullings on the right wing and Jonathan Mathys on the left wing. Up front were Noah Engell and Marcus Immersen.

Match Report

The stage was set for a festive match with fireworks outside the pitch. From the start of the match, AB controlled the game and pressed Helsingør. AB had 5 corner kicks within the first 10 minutes. Helsingør played quickly with good combinations and got more and more involved. This gave AB challenges, where FC Helsingør easily got past on the flanks. AB had several attempts, where Marc Dal Hende had a good header and Mikkel Brund a good finish, but the defense managed to parry. AB created a good combination after a corner kick, where Marco Vesterholm, who played a good match, passed back to Noah Engell, who shot directly and it was very close to a goal. Noah Engell got a through ball and came to a finish, but the ball ended up in the side netting.

Helsingør got a good opportunity when a player was completely free in front of goal. AB’s goalkeeper Nicholas Christoffersen managed to parry the ball up onto the crossbar, and it ended with a corner kick. The corner kick was sent across the box, where Adrien Koudelka headed the ball over the goal. The following corner didn’t give Helsingør a result. After 14 minutes, AB wanted to get back in the game, and O’Vonte Mullings sent a pass to Marco Vesterholm, who finished but not precisely enough for a goal.

It was Helsingør who got on the scoreboard first, when after 18 minutes they could take the lead after a free kick. The ball ended up at the far post and Sebastian Slettegaard Petersen scored to make it 1-0. Then AB got going and created fine chances. After 26 minutes, Jonathan Mathys delivered a razor-sharp and hard cross-field pass to Noah Engell, who finished but just wide.
Just 3 minutes later, the referee awarded a penalty when there was a handball in the box. Noah Engell executed with his characteristic shot and equalized to 1-1 after just under half an hour of play. A minute later, Helsingør had the chance when a ball in AB’s defensive zone wasn’t cleared, but the finish ended up well over the goal. AB got another corner kick and after some tussling in the box, it gave AB a finish that FC Helsingør managed to save on the goal line.

After 37 minutes, Noah Engell had to leave the pitch with an injury and was replaced by Marco Ramkilde. It didn’t take long before Marco Ramkilde found Jonathan Mathys, who could finish from a free position. Helsingør’s goalkeeper Maksymilian Boruc got a hand to the ball, but it wasn’t enough for him to hold onto the ball, which rolled over the line for AB’s 2-1 lead, which was the halftime score.

The break gave renewed energy to both teams, but AB had the upper hand and dribbled around, finding each other in tight spaces. Marco Ramkilde found O’Vonte Mullings on the flank, and he beat his opponent, dribbled to the byline and sent a really good cross into the box to Marcus Immersen, who scored to make it 3-1 after 51 minutes of play. Five minutes later, it was Marco Ramkilde who passed to Frederik Lindgaard, who with few touches sent the ball into the goal for 4-1 after 57 minutes of play. After 66 minutes, Alfred Peter Horup came on at left-back and Tobias Damtoft took a seat on the bench. Tobias Hageltorn took over the left wing after Jonathan Mathys.

FC Helsingør had a brief resurgence, but AB’s defense together with Nicholas Christoffersen managed to ward off all attempts from FC Helsingør’s side. It was different when Marco Ramkilde played Albert Peter Horup, who immediately sent the ball back to Marco Ramkilde. He sought into the box and was brought down. The referee awarded a penalty, and Marco Ramkilde could very confidently increase the lead to 5-1 after 74 minutes of play.

After this, Ægir Jarl Jónasson took over Marcus Immersen’s place up front. Noah Ibsen came into central defense and Adrien Koudelka was moved out to right-back, while Frederik Lindgaard took a place on the bench.
Within the last minutes, O’Vonte Mullings finished, but the ball ended up just over the goal, Tobias Hageltorn also tried with a long-range effort, but the goalkeeper was in the way. The last finish came from Alfred Peter Horup, but the ball ended up very close to the goal.

Captain Marc Dal Hende said it was a good mental victory:

We knew we were going to face a wounded animal and a wounded animal tends to bite back, especially when it smells blood – and I have to say that Helsingør did that. In the beginning we weren’t there, they turned us around and without Nick in goal, we could well have been behind by much more. It’s so fantastic that he steps up and helps us.
We struggled in the first 25 minutes, until we gathered ourselves and adjusted some things in the press. After that we showed quality again and could score so many goals. It shows strength that in difficult periods we can gather ourselves. We fall down and get control of it and don’t completely fall apart.
It was a good mental victory on a difficult away ground in Helsingør. Even though they don’t have many points, they play well. It’s obviously great to go into the winter break in 1st place. That’s where we want to be, even though we obviously would prefer to be there when the season is over.

Head coach Joey Gudjonsson greatly appreciates AB’s fans

It was a completely perfect way to end the first half of the season. It was a bit chaotic match in the beginning – they had some chances and we had some chances. There was a lot of energy in the Helsingør team. They have good and talented players and they can move the ball around quite quickly. They gave us problems in the beginning, but after 20 minutes we had control of the match – after that we didn’t look back. We could easily have scored more goals and we definitely deserved the victory. The players who started and the players who came on gave everything they had.
I think our fans really appreciated what they saw today, and it was lovely again today to hear their support. From my perspective, there are more and more people watching our matches also away from home and we greatly appreciate that.
I’m sure that next year will be a really good year for AB, so for now there’s only left to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

There will be friendly matches when the team returns after a well-deserved winter break. The tournament starts again Saturday March 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM at Gladsaxe Stadium, where HIK will visit.