VideosVitesse already wrote club history with European wintering and the fairytale of the Arnhem team is getting a new chapter. With a 2-0 win in front of their own audience, the team of trainer Thomas Letsch made up for last week’s defeat in Austria against Rapid Wien (2-1). Vitesse thus qualified for the eighth finals of the Conference League.
Adrian Grbic and Matus Bero scored early in the Gelredome. Grbic, who was hired from FC Lorient in the winter, opened the scoring after three minutes. In the nineteenth minute, Bero made it 2-0.
Letsch’s team had to do without two determining players in Arnhem. Defender Riechedly Bazoer was absent due to an injury, attacker Lois Openda due to a suspension. Their places were taken by the Croat Dominik Oroz and the Dane Nikolai Baden Frederiksen.
Lightning start home team again
Last week the lightning start of the Austrians was fatal in the first leg, now Vitesse struck very quickly. Grbic, child of Rapid, opened the way to the eighth finals. The Austrian shot flawlessly on a pass from Eli Dasa.
The striker played by chance. Thomas Buitink dropped out on race day. He became a father. Now Grbic made his first goal for the Arnhem team.
Bero also became a hero in Arnhem. Europe has already brought out the best in the Slovak this season. He now used his walking ability as a weapon. Dasa again provided the assist. And now the marathoner was also cold-blooded in the finish.
Next step
With those goals, the job was done for Vitesse. Rapid Wien, with Ferdy Druijf, who was hired from AZ, in action throughout the game, attacked in the final phase in despair, but powerless. In the Gelredome, filled with only 13,517 spectators, the party followed.
Due to the success of Vitesse, four Dutch clubs are in the eighth finals of the Conference League. In addition to Vitesse, these are PSV, Feyenoord and AZ. The draw is Friday. Vitesse can meet the following opponents: FC Basel, FC Copenhagen, KAA Gent, LASK Linz, Stade Rennais and AS Roma.
‘We can do it’
Vitesse coach Thomas Letsch after the win: ,,We were the best team from the start, we started with a lot of energy. We started to wonder what was wrong, but today everyone could see that we can still do it. It was more than deserved that we passed. We didn’t give away a chance and maybe should have made more,” Letsch told ESPN. “Those two early goals are nice, but 2-0 remains a dangerous score.”
Watch Vitesse’s goals against Rapid Wien below.
Do you want to relive the match? Read the live blog below:
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