Vidi make it through to the second qualifying round

The home side scored twice inside the first half hour but that is as close as they got. Vidi have qualified to the next round as a result. 

Videoton went into the second leg in the Moldavia capital with a 3-0 lead from the first game. The match in Chișinău against FC Zaria Balti was all that stood in the way of a place in Q2 next week. It is interesting to note that the last Hungarian side to have won in Moldavia was Honved, back in 1994, when they defeated FC Zimbru Chişinău 1-0. Thursday's second leg tie was played in the same stadium. 

The teams kicked off with Vidi playing in their white kit. Patkai and Barczi were forced to miss the game through illness, with Oliveira and Stopira coming into the side in their place. Adam Lang was back from international duty with Hungary at the European Championships, and he was also in the starting line-up. That meant that Andras Fejes dropped down to the subs bench. 

The first chance came after 2 minutes when Suljic got hold of the ball and shot at goal from 22 meters. That forced home keeper Pascenco into an early save. It was the Moldovian cup winners that went ahead after 9 minutes when Mihaliov kept onside and blasted a shot from 10 meters into the back of the net (1-0). 

Suljic was again in the thick of the action after 15 minutes when he brought out a good save from Pascenco. Oliveira then went down the left shortly after, before sending the ball into the middle for Geresi to send his effort wide of the post. The home supporters were back on their feet after 29 minutes when they scored their second goal to cut the deficit to one goal. A ball from the right found Gheorge Ovseanicov, who sent his header across the face of goal for Gheorge Boghiu to make sure on the goal line. That brought the aggregate score to 3-2. There were no further serious chances in the first period as the referee brought the first half to an end. 

There was 14 minutes on the clock when the first chance came in the second half. That fell to the home side when Mihaliov sent a high ball in from the left, for the arriving Grosu to blast his shot over the bar from close range. The next chance came close to the end after 83 minutes, when Boghiu found himself with the ball, but his shot from 15 meters went over the crossbar. 

There were no further chances in the game and although Vidi suffered a 2-0 goal defeat, they still went through 3-2 on aggregate. That means a two-legged affair with Serbian side Čukarički, who finished last season in third place in the Serbian league. The first leg will be on Thursday 14th July in Felcsut.

Author: David Rechnitzer

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