published: tuesday 22 july 2014, 23.45cet debreceni vsc 2-0 cliftonville fc (agg 2-0)
the dismissal of jamie mcgovern proved to be a turning point as the hungarian champions squeezed through.
debreceni vsc set up a uefa champions league third qualifying round appointment with fc bate borisov after overcoming stubborn cliftonville fc, who were reduced to ten men.
the hungarian champions had reason to curse their luck in the first half, dalibor volaš heading against the underside of the bar on nine minutes, before rene mihelič went close from a free-kick and józsef varga stung visiting goalkeeper conor devlin's palms with a shot from distance. however, the northern ırish side were dealt a crippling blow when jamie mcgovern was dismissed on 54 minutes for a foul on volaš, with slovenian forward bearing down on goal.
mihelić stepped up to steer the resulting free-kick from the edge of the box past devlin for debrecen's opener. the home side moved in for the kill; within the space of a few minutes, a volaš effort squirmed just wide, devlin repelled ádám bódi's powerful drive and mihelič sent a bullet shot just over. however, elemér kondás's side were never quite secure until the 79th minute, when ıbrahim sidibe stabbed into the net following mihály korhut's cross from the left.
