HERNING, Denmark (Interstat) — Midtjylland defeated Odense 2-1 on Thursday at MCH Arena, using a second-half goal from Sofus Johannesen to secure the win after an earlier lead had been erased. Midtjylland moved to 1 win and 0 losses in this competition, while Odense dropped to 0 wins and 1 loss. Across all competitions, Midtjylland is now 15 wins, 3 losses and 7 draws, and Odense is 5 wins, 6 losses and 5 draws. The match remained tight after Johannesen’s strike, but Odense could not find a second equalizer. Midtjylland protected its advantage over the final half-hour and kept Odense from scoring again.

B. Sorensen M. gave Midtjylland the lead in the 27th minute. Odense responded in the 42nd minute when Noah Ganaus scored, sending the teams into halftime level. Johannesen then scored in the 62nd minute for what proved to be the decisive goal. Victor Jensen recorded an assist for Midtjylland, and Fiete Arp Jann recorded an assist for Odense. The main individual performances, in descending order, were B. Sorensen M., who played 90 minutes and scored once; Noah Ganaus, who played 63 minutes and scored once; Sofus Johannesen, who played 87 minutes and scored once; Victor Jensen, who played 90 minutes and had one assist; and Fiete Arp Jann, who played 64 minutes and had one assist.

Odense’s Askou J. received a yellow card in the 40th minute. Suhonen A. of Odense was booked in the 56th minute. Midtjylland’s Maxso A. was shown a yellow card in the 85th minute. Ouedraogo I. of Odense was booked in the first minute of stoppage time, and Kristensen R. of Midtjylland was booked in the third minute of stoppage time.

Substitutions began at halftime for Midtjylland with Watjen K. Odense’s Falk R. followed in the 50th minute, and Midtjylland’s Cho Gue-Sung was involved in a substitution in the 57th minute. Odense made substitutions involving Ganaus N. and Arp F. in the 63rd and 64th minutes. Keskinen T. and Askou J. were involved in Odense substitutions in the 82nd minute. Midtjylland had substitutions involving Johannesen S. in the 87th minute and Etim F. in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

The result gave Midtjylland the home victory after Odense had briefly leveled the match. Odense’s record in this competition remained at 0 wins and 1 loss, while Midtjylland’s competition record stood at 1 win and 0 losses. The teams had met previously this season, with that match ending in a draw. Odense had recent results that included a draw at FC Copenhagen, a home win over Brondby and a draw at Nordsjaelland before the loss at Midtjylland. Midtjylland’s recent results included a home win over Lyngby, a loss to St. Truiden and a win at Viborg. The match was played at MCH Arena in Herning.

The teams had met earlier in the season, and that match ended 1-1 at Odense. Odense entered the match after a 1-1 draw at FC Copenhagen, a 2-1 home win over Brondby, a 0-0 draw at Nordsjaelland and a 5-4 loss at Kolding IF. Odense had also drawn 1-1 at Lyngby BK and beaten Fredericia 2-1 earlier in the season. Midtjylland entered after a 3-2 home win over Lyngby, a 1-0 home loss to St. Truiden, a 2-1 win at Viborg and a 1-1 draw at Egnatia. Midtjylland had also beaten FC Copenhagen 2-1 at home earlier in the season.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Midtjylland 2, Odense 2. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Midtjylland with a 98.5 percent probability to win. Midtjylland had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of -0.75. The total score of 3 went over the over-under line of 3.5.