Viborg (0) 2 - Rayo Vallecano (1) 1

Rayo: Keller; Alcázar, De Quintana, Ballesteros, Mingo; Glaucio (Mauro 57'), Helder (Iván Iglesias 46'), Michel, Setvalls (Bolic 46'); Quevedo, Bolo. 4-4-2.

Goals:
1-0. 28. Fernández. Slow header Hojer's free kick which beat Keller.
1-1. 77. Michel. Free kick from outside area which took a deflection off Glerup.
2-1. 84. Fernández. From right after short free kick by Hojer.

Rayo Vallecano scraped through to the third round of the UEFA cup thanks to a late away goal from their top scorer Michel. The midfielder struck a free kick from outside of the area which deflected off the defensive wall and past keeper Onyosko only a minute or two after their opponents had been reduced to ten men for the sending off of defender Pedersen. Up to that point things had been going badly, with Viborg levelling the tie half an hour into the match when Fernández headed Hojer's free kick past Keller, returning to the side as usual for the European stage. On a rainy night in Silkeborg (the Viborg stadium was not considered fit for European competition), the Danes appeared to be a different team from the one who were defeated in Madrid two weeks earlier, and apart from a Michel free kick which Ballesteros and then Quevedo failed to take advantage of, Viborg dominated the first half.

The players looked tired after yet another delayed flight out of Madrid, and at the interval Juande Ramos changed things around, with Iglesias and Bolic replacing Helder and Setvalls as Rayo went for the away goal that would give them some respite. However it was the man with the Spanish name, Fernández (whose origins are in Spain) who almost scored, Mingo clearing off the line with Keller beaten only five minutes into the half. The Rayo fans had to suffer for another half an hour before Michel put them out of the misery, but even with ten men Viborg were still dangerous.

A second goal from Fernández six minutes from time put the home side back in with a chance, but Rayo hung on to go through to the next round in their first ever season in a European competition. They go back to the frozen North for their next tie, with a more difficult opponent Lokomotiv Moscow to beat. A bit like successful quiz shows, each challenge is a little harder than the last. Will they get through the next test, or will they cash in their chips? We will know in two or three weeks time.