Vikingur Reykjavik came from behind to beat Thun 3:2 in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League on Wednesday evening at Víkingsvöllur. The hosts had lost 3:0 to the Swiss side just seven days earlier and needed to salvage something from this campaign. They did, grinding out a result that felt earned rather than gifted.
F. Fehr gave Thun the lead in the tenth minute, a moment that sent the home crowd into a restless state. G. Sigurdsson equalised six minutes later, though he was already carrying a yellow card from the fifth minute. The momentum shifted, but Thun struck again through B. Labeau in the thirty-fifth minute. By then Vikingur looked exposed, and the visitors seemed set to repeat their victory.
Things came to a head thirty-eight minutes in when S. Thordarson levelled the score. The game opened up after that, and in the fifty-fifth minute V. Ingimundarson put Vikingur ahead. He picked up a yellow card himself in the same half, but the home side held on grimly. Thun pushed for an equaliser and S. Ottesen picked up two bookings in quick succession, the second in the seventy-second minute.
Vikingur made three changes — K. Gunnarsson and A. Thrandarson came on together in the sixty-third minute, followed by A. Finnbogason in the seventy-fifth. Thun responded with three substitutions of their own, N. Zoukit and N. Reichmuth arriving in the seventy-ninth, M. Gutbub following in the sixty-third.
The statistics tell a story of dominance that didn't fully translate. Vikingur held 57 per cent of possession, created three big chances and registered 1.7 expected goals. Thun had 1.11 expected goals and two big chances. Seven shots on target against five suggests the home side pressed more, and they came for a cross he never reached when it mattered.
The result extends Vikingur's unbeaten run to eight across all competitions, though this was a different animal to the friendly wins. Thun remain in control of their qualification fate, but they knew a defeat here would complicate matters. The scoreline settles at 3:2, and the goal difference stands at +1 for the hosts after this round.