Vidi put on a very brave fight and came very close to going through to the play off's. However, it was the Danish side who scored an important equaliser to progress to the next round.
Vidi were in Europa League Q3 action on Thursday evening in Denmark. The first leg ended in a 1-0 win at Felcsut for FC Midtjylland. That meant that Vidi had to score a goal to have any chance of going through at the MCH Arena. That was the same venue that Manchester United lost 2-1 last season in the Europa League.
Henning Berg made changes to his side with Roland Juhasz and Istvan Kovacs coming into a starting line-up that saw Vidi play in a 5-2-3 formation. The first chance came for the visitors with Patkai sending a 35 meter shot at goal, but it did not create problems for the Danish side. Geresi then shot wide of goal from a tight angle minutes later. A corner for Midjylland on 8 minutes caused problems in the Vidi box, but Olsson sent his scissors kick wide of the target.
Henning Berg was forced into an early substitution after just 12 minutes. Stopira picked up an injury and was forced off with Bodi coming on in his place. Lang went into the book after 19 minutes when he was judged to have pulled back Kadlec just outside the box. The resulting free kick from a good position was blocked by the wall and the danger escaped.
The game was very balanced as the minutes ticked by, with the Danes perhaps having slightly more of the ball, but they could not create a real chance on the visiting goal in the first half.
The second half was much more exciting than the first 45 minutes. However, it did not begin in that way as Vinicius was shown a straight red when Hassan was brought down on 48 minutes on the edge of the box. At the stadium where Manchester United had suffered a 2-1 loss last season, not many would have imagined Vidi getting back into the tie with ten men. The team from Szekesfehervar had other ideas as they battled hard to give serious problems for the home side. Vidi started to attack more and it produced results. There was 54 minutes on the clock when Kovacs sent a low shot at goal from 20 meters, which Dahlin saved. Szolnoki then hit a fantastic long range shot that hit the bar after 62 minutes. That impressive shot was from 35 meters out and went very close to putting Vidi ahead on the night.
The action continued and Vidi eventually managed to score that all important away goal. It came after 76 minutes from the boot of Kovacs. The midfielder sent a shot at goal, which landed in the back of the net (0-1). Vidi led with 10 men and went in search of a second. Barczi saw his powerful shot go just wide of the left post with the minutes clicking away and the tie heading for extra time.
There was still enough time for Feczesin to get on the end of a Bodi cross in the last minute, which was cleared off the line by Hansen. There was just a couple of inches to Vidi securing a very good win. Injury time saw Feczesin require treatment for a cut to his head following a challenge. The referee blew for the end of 90 minutes and the tie went into 2 x 15 minutes extra time.
Vidi found themselves with a very good chance after 96 minutes. A quick counter attack saw Suljic release Bodi, who took the ball wide of the keeper, but his shot from a tight angle clipped the post. Novak settled the match on 104 minutes when he scored a similar goal to the one a week ago in the first leg. His confident shot from close range levelled the match at 1-1 on the night
A Nego cross after 107 minutes was controlled by Patkai, who shot at goal from 7 meters, but Dahlin was equal to it and he pulled off a good save. Kovacsik was also impressive at the other end as he tipped an Olsson shot over the bar.
A free kick for Vidi in the final minute saw keeper Kovacsik go up to the opposite end to try and help find a winning goal. However, the home side cleared and the referee blew for full time. Vidi put up a very good fight on a nice evening in Denmark. Perhaps the fact that the man of the match was Dahlin in the Danish goal said a lot for the match.
Author: David Rechnitzer