line-ups

Lillestrøm SK

Dahlberg – Ranger (44. Ottesen), Gabrielsen (C), Kristiansen, Paintsil (83. Elkaer) – Nyheim, Ottosson, Ibrahimaj (74. Nordh) – Vá, Gulbrandsen (74. Olsen), Kitolano (83. Melland).

FC Viktoria Plzeň

Wiegele – Pališčák (78. Vavro), Dweh, Prebsl – Gabriel, Hrošovský (C) (66. Pirgić), Červ, Doski – Sojka (66. Souaré) – Adu (70. Kabongo), Memić (78. Ladra).

statistics

Goals: 10. Adu (Hrošovský)

Yellow cards: 24. Ranger (LLS), 87. Nyheim (LLS) – 32. Dweh (PLZ), 66. Hrošovský (PLZ), 76. Prebsl (PLZ), 84. Radoslav Kováč (PLZ), 90. Wiegele (PLZ)

Referees: Gidzhenov – Maksimov, Vukov (všichni BUL)

Shots on goal: 4:11

Shots off target: 5:5

Corners: 3:6

Offside: 3:1

Fouls: 7:10

Attendance: 6461

Viktoria secured a 1–0 away win over Norway’s Lillestrøm on Matchday 4 of the Europa League league phase. Prince Adu scored the only goal early on, and Viktoria held on to their narrow lead until the final whistle to claim their first win in this season’s competition.

Viktoria kicked off the Europa League Matchday 4 clash in Norway. Lillestrøm threatened for the first time in the third minute, but the shot lacked the power to trouble Wiegele. The opening stages were marked by misplaced passes as both teams looked for a way through the opposition’s defence. In the eighth minute, Viktoria won a corner, but Gabriel headed wide. Shortly afterwards, however, the visitors were celebrating. Hrošovský intercepted a pass and delivered a cross to Adu, who opened the scoring with a finish into the far corner.

Another mistake in the home side’s build-up followed in the 13th minute. This time, Sojka picked up the ball and beat a defender before Gabriel arrived to shoot, but the goalkeeper was equal to his effort. In the 17th minute, Doski won possession, surged towards goal and attempted a cross. A defender read his intentions, though, and blocked the ball behind for a corner.

Early in the 21st minute, Dahlberg was called into action twice in quick succession. He first parried Červ’s shot into the path of the unmarked Gabriel, then denied his follow-up from point-blank range. In the 31st minute, Viktoria created further clear chances following two corners. The home goalkeeper kept out Dweh’s header before Hrošovský met a subsequent cross from Doski, turning and firing narrowly wide. There were no further major chances before the break, and Viktoria went into half-time with a one-goal lead.

Towards the end of the 50th minute, Memić misplaced a pass across the pitch, forcing Pališčák to halt the resulting dangerous attack with a foul. Lillestrøm were awarded a free-kick in a promising position, but Wiegele dealt comfortably with the shot. In the 55th minute, Paintsil nutmegged Pališčák, only for Dweh to block his effort.

A minute later, Gabriel picked out Hrošovský with a fine pass. He sent the ball across the face of goal from a tight angle, but no Viktoria player was there to meet it. The hosts stepped up the pressure during this spell, and Viktoria struggled to get out of their own half.

Nevertheless, Viktoria created two huge chances in the 76th minute. Memić’s effort deflected off the goalkeeper onto the crossbar, before Červ’s follow-up was blocked on the goal line by a defender. The contest remained hard-fought until the final whistle, but Viktoria protected their narrow lead to secure their first win and first three points of the Europa League league phase.

Highlights

Photogallery