Arka Gdynia won against FC Midtjylland 3:2 in first match of the 3rd qualifying round of Europa League. Arka Gdynia returned to European cups after 38 years. The match gathered a huge number of the Yellow&Blue’s fans (over 14,000 bought tickets and came to the Stadion Miejski) who could not feel disappointed after the match.
A calm beginning
During the first half hour of the match, the game took place mostly in the middle of the field. However, the last quarter of the first half was full of emotions. In the 31st minute Marcus Vinícius da Silva, managed to escape the rivals. With a fantastic shot from the edge of the penalty area he defeated guests’ goalkeeper.
Arka have enjoyed the winning result for less than 120 seconds. Rilwan Hassan got through Arka’s defense and defeated Steinbors. Yellow&Blues must have been in quite a shock as 3 minutes later FC Midtjylland was leading 2:1, after a header from Marc Dal Hende.
When it seemed that Arka would not rise after this blow, FC Midtjylland’s goalkeeper fouled Patryk Kun in the penalty area. As a result Arka got a penalty kick. Marcus Da Silva scored his 49th goal for Arka and the result (2:2) has not changed by the end of the first half.
Danish advantage
In the second half players from Denmark were gaining more and more advantage with every minute. They managed to create a few dangerous situations. The best one was in the 61st minute, when after Gustav Wikheim shot. The crossbar saved Yellow&Blues from a losing the 3rd goal.
Arka on the other hand also had their chances. Tadeusz Socha had at least 2 chances to score, first in the 50th minute – the shot was blocked by FC Mitdjylland defense, and later in the 68th minute. This time though his shot went over the crossbar. After substitutions made by coach Ojrzynski (Siemaszko, Zarandia and Nalepa in, Kun, Da Silva and Sambea out) Yellow&Blues began to play more boldly.
Coach Ojrzynski had a great hunch as in the 92nd minute Michal Nalepa’s cross from a free kick reached Siemaszko in the Danish penalty area. Rafal Siemaszko defeated Jesper Jansen with an incredible header and Arka won 3:2.
Upcoming matches
On the 3rd of August Yellow&Blues will play a rematch in Denmark. Will they qualify to the next round?
Before that, Arka is playing another match in LOTTO Ekstraklasa. On Sunday, July the 30th, at 15:30 in Gdynia, Yellow&Blues will face Wisla Plock. Tickets are still available online and in the official Arka fan stores.
