FC Midtjylland advanced to the Conference League playoff round following a 3-2 home victory and a 5-2 aggregate win over Bohemians.
While the scoreline might suggest a comfortable victory, the numbers mask two rather unconvincing performances against the unheralded Irish side.
The 2-0 win in Dublin a week ago was marred by several blunders, and head coach Mike Tullberg had set a goal of decisively dispatching the visitors in Herning on Thursday night.
That did not happen, however; the home side were fortunate to lead 1-0 at halftime, and things did not improve much during the final 45 minutes.
Midtjylland's next challenge before the league phase will be against Croatian side Rijeka, who defeated Finland's Ilves 2-1 on aggregate.
In Denmark, Rijeka are perhaps best known for knocking FC Copenhagen out of the Europa League playoff round in 2020 following a bizarre own goal—a clip that still periodically goes viral online.
The Midtjylland side's errors against Bohemians were not quite that egregious, though the visitors did have two goals disallowed within the first ten minutes of Thursday's match.
The first was ruled out for offside, and the second due to a seemingly very soft foul called during a corner kick. Furthermore, FC Midtjylland struggled significantly to impose themselves in possession or create chances against the hardworking away team.
The breakthrough finally came after 25 minutes, when Franculino—a player currently viewed as a prime candidate for a future transfer—converted a penalty won by his striker partner, Cho Gue-sung. Defender Martin Erlic came close to making it 2-0 before the break, but the lead was doubled early in the second half when teenager Sofus Johannesen fired a loose ball in the box past the Irish goalkeeper.
Just past the hour mark, Bohemians finally reaped the rewards of their efforts when a Midtjylland turnover was punished by a counter-attack and a deflected shot from substitute Zach Myers.
Shortly after, Martin Erlic was fortunate to escape with only a yellow card following a poor defensive play where he brought down an Irish player who otherwise had a clear run at goal.
The home side extended their lead to 3-1 when Stanley Iheanacho bundled the ball over the line following a Midtjylland counter-attack, but the performance never became convincing.
It was therefore fitting that the Irish side had the final say, pulling a goal back with a header.