Vikingur Reykjavik took a 2-1 win over Hapoel Beer Sheva at Vikin in Reykjavik, and the result was settled late after a tight contest that stayed level at the break. In UEFA Champions League Qualification, Round 2, the home side found the decisive moment in the 86th minute, turning a 1-1 spell into a finish that rewarded Soelvi Ottesen's team. For fans in Malta, the Tuesday 21 July, 21:00 CEST kickoff gave a sharp late-summer European edge to a match that moved from control to tension and then to resolution.
The first half finished 0-0, which matched the caution in the early stages and the even structure of both teams' 4-3-3 shapes. Vikingur Reykjavik, coached by Soelvi Ottesen, and Hapoel Beer Sheva, led by Ran Kozuch, both kept their spacing compact enough to avoid early damage. With the score still blank at half-time, the game was always likely to swing on one clean attacking sequence, and that is exactly how the second half opened once the tempo lifted after the interval.
Vikingur Reykjavik struck first in the 48th minute through a Home goal, only for Hapoel Beer Sheva to answer three minutes later in the 51st minute with an Away goal that restored parity. That brief exchange defined the match: one side landed a punch, the other responded immediately, and neither could fully settle the rhythm. The decisive difference arrived much later, in the 86th minute, when Vikingur Reykjavik scored again and made the final passage count. The 2-1 finish reflected a game that remained open but was decided by the home side's final push.
- Score at half-time: 0-0, which showed how carefully both teams managed the first period.
- Opening pattern after the interval: Home scored in the 48th minute, then Away replied in the 51st minute.
- Winning moment: the Home side's 86th-minute goal created the final 2-1 margin.
- Discipline stayed manageable, with yellow cards shown to Away in the 41st and 63rd minutes, and to Home in the 76th minute.
That flow made Vikin a fitting stage for a match that needed patience as much as tempo. The venue in Reykjavik saw both coaches, Soelvi Ottesen and Ran Kozuch, work through a contest that stayed balanced until the closing stages. The 2-1 scoreline underlined how little separated the sides for most of the night, while the final home goal ensured Vikingur Reykjavik left with the outcome rather than just a performance note. In Malta, where the fixture was available through beIN or DAZN MT, the late shift in momentum would have been the key story for viewers tracking the tie.
The finishing detail mattered because the match never drifted far from equilibrium: 0-0 at the break, 1-1 soon after the restart, and then a late home winner. That shape made the result feel earned rather than comfortable. Vikingur Reykjavik took the points on the night, Hapoel Beer Sheva were left to absorb the setback after matching the response to the first goal, and the tie moved on with the home side holding the advantage created at Vikin. For supporters in Malta, the result delivered the kind of late European finish that kept the decisive margin alive until the 86th minute.
What next is simple: Vikingur Reykjavik carry the 2-1 outcome forward from Reykjavik, while Hapoel Beer Sheva must recover quickly after conceding late in UEFA Champions League Qualification, Round 2.
