Europa League: Luckless Ferencváros lose at home but Videoton plough on

Videoton won their Europa League second qualifying round first leg convincingly away in Estonia yesterday but 10-man Ferencváros were hugely unfortunate to lose 4-2 at home against Danish opponent Midtjylland and Honvéd will also need to come from behind if they are to overcome Hapoel Beer Sheba after a 2-1 away loss in their Champions’ League second qualifying round match in Israel on Tuesday.

At the Groupama Aréna in Budapest, Ferencváros started very much on the front foot, Tamás Priskin heading the ball wide when he should have perhaps left Roland Varga’s standing cross for the arriving Rui Pedro and Amadou forcing an early corner after a typically mazy crossfield run, only for nothing to come of it.

Their Danish opponents were not short of attacking intent either though, captain Jakob Poulsen’s corner finding 201cm-tall Paul Onuachu arriving at the near post, but his header was blocked and Fradi escaped. The hosts nearly made their visitors pay soon after too, Leandro releasing Priskin in on goal down the left channel but he took a heavy touch on the way towards goal and in the end was perhaps fortunate to get a corner.

Six corners in the first quarter of an hour – three for each team – illustrated the open nature of the match thus far so it was no surprise that an opening goal was forthcoming. Leandro, Fradi’s naturalised Hungarian defender born in Brazil, had already created one chance for Priskin with a long-range pass when he lofted an angular 40-metre ball to left-back Endre Botka on the left of the penalty area, the recent signing from domestic rivals Budapest Honvéd impressively controlling the ball on his chest, turning inside and striding across the D before dispatching the ball to the right of an unsighted Jesper Hansen in the Midtjylland goal, this in the 23rd minute.

Suddenly Thomas Doll’s team were dominating proceedings, the lively Amadou collecting Varga’s deep cross, cutting back inside from the right side of the penalty area and curling a shot just a metre wide of the far right stanchion. Leandro went close to extending the lead with a blocked shot before Rui Pedro saw his looping back-header tipped over the bar by Hansen and Gera rifled the ball over from the resultant corner.

Such was their hold over the game it was now becoming important that Fradi would gain that second goal while in the ascendancy and it duly came when another new signing Fernando Gorriaran had his legs taken away from him 18 metres from goal and from a central position stroked the ensuing free-kick nonchalantly to Hansen’s left and into the net.

At this stage with 42 minutes on the clock it was hard to imagine a way back for the Danes but suddenly a route opened up for them in dramatic fashion, the Swiss referee deeming central defender Julian Kock’s 46th-minute challenge on Onuachu to be illegal and serving up a double punishment for the reigning Hungarian Cup winners, awarding a penalty which Poulsen converted into the right side of the goal, but not before Kock had been dismissed from the field of play.