Southampton's group-stage hopes went up in smoke after being eliminated from the Europa League following a 1-0 defeat away to FC Midtjylland in Denmark.
Morten Rasmussen scored the only goal of the night on 28 minutes as the Danes progressed into the group stages with a 2-1 aggregate win.
The Saints boasted possession for much of the second half, but they failed to find the goal needed to force extra time as they bowed out.
Below, relive our live text commentary of the clash.
6.47pmCan Southampton reach the Europa League group stages then? Who knows, but what we do know is that they've got a big, big test ahead of them. Tonight, Ronald Koeman's side visit Midtjylland knowing that they must score at least once after the Danish champions netted an away goal in last week's 1-1 draw at St Mary's. Failure to qualify would mean that their hugely-encouraging 2014-15 Premier League campaign will have all been for nothing. Nish. Nada. Zip and any other synonym for 'nothing'.
6.50pmBefore the first leg, there was a sense that Southampton - who thumped Vitesse 5-0 on aggregate in the previous qualifying round - were effectively in the group stages. Elimination was about as likely as Ronald Koeman appearing on Jeremy Kyle to be told that Ed Sheeran was his biological son. But the reality is that the Saints will have to play very well to reach the Europa League proper because Midtjylland, as they proved last week, are no mugs.
6.53pmIn truth, the Danes were arguably the better side during the first leg - and, interestingly, they've got a Rory Delap-type tactic that caused mayhem in the Saints' penalty area last time out. Tim Sparv struck on the stroke of half time to give Midtjylland a desrved lead at the break, before Jay Rodriguez converted a second-half penalty for parity. Pretty dull game on the whole. I won't lie. But hopefully we see a bit more action tonight.
6.55pmAnywho, shall we have a quick look at team news? Why not. Stay tuned.
6.57pmMIDTJYLLAND XI: Dahlin; Hansen, Sviatchenko, Lauridsen, Bach Bak; Sparv, Poulsen, Anderrson, Sisto, Royer; Rasmussen
6.58pmSOUTHAMPTON XI: Stekelenburg, Martina, Fonte, Caulker, Yoshida, Targett, Romeu, S. Davis, Ward-Prowse, Pellè, Rodriguez
7.00pmMIDTJYLLAND SUBS: Andersen, Banggard, Romer, Olsson, Hassan, Pusic, Onuachu
7.01pmSOUTHAMPTON SUBS: K. Davis (GK), Cédric, Long, Mané, Tadić, Reed, Juanmi.
7.05pmThere's no Victor Wanyama for the Saints as he sits out through injury. Steven Davis comes into midfield instead. Graziano Pelel starts up front, with Rodriguez supporting. Matt Targett, who has excellent at left-back, looks like he'll also start in midfield tonight. Interesting.
7.09pmAside from their tricky-to-pronounce name, what do we know about Midtjylland then? Quiet down because class in session. Firstly, the club itself is younger than James Ward-Prowse, having only been founded in 1999. Mental. They're also the reigning Super Liga champions in Denmark's top flight, which is even more mental given the fact they've only been in existence for 16 years.
7.13pmWhat's the reason behind their meteoric rise then? In 2014, they were taken over by Brentford owner Matthew Benham, whose penchant for statistics, rather than traditional scouting, has seen the Danish club adopt a Moneyball-type structure when it comes to recruitment.
7.15pmHas it worked? By virtue of the fact they're the Danish champions, and could potentially reach the Europa League group stage tonight, it's fair to say it has worked quite well indeed.
7.18pmHere's an interesting quote from Rasmus Ankersen, who has worked alongside Benham at Brentford and Midtjylland: "I met Matthew a few years ago. At the time, Brentford were third in League One and there were a couple of games to go. I said to him, 'What are the chances of getting promoted?' When you ask that question you expect an emotional 'yes' or 'no' from a football owner. But he just said rationally, 'At the moment, there's a 42.3 per cent chance we will get promoted'."
7.22pmWe've spoken about Midtjylland's rise, but lest we forget Southampton, who aren't 16, but their footballing life was threatened a few years ago after entering administration and dropping down into League One. Fast forward a few years and here they stand, on the brink of Europa League qualification. Is it safe to say it'll be a fantastic story for whoever progresses tonight? I think so.
7.30pm"I believe in the qualities of our players. If we play to our level I'm totally confident we can reach the group stage." They were the words of Koeman in a pre-match interview with the club's official website. Them be fighting words. Can his boys justify his confidence? Time will tell. Fifteen minutes to go.
7.35pmPREDICTION! Right, 10 minutes from showtime so let's do what we always do and get a prediction wrong. And I fancy the home side to squeeze through tonight. I do. Sorry England and the Premier League. Sorry Mr Koeman and Matt Le Tissier. Sorry to anybody who has worn a red and white shirt ever. Sorry to Wally of Where's Wally fame. But I fancy the Saints to exit the tournament. 3-1 Midtjylland win, to cap a 4-2 aggregate victory. Having said that, I do have a cheeky tenner on Pelle 1st goal. Pray for me.
7.39pmIncidentally, Rodriguez's goal last week was his first since April 2014 following a rotten run of injuries.
PHOTO: @JayRodriguez9 warms up ahead of tonight's game. Can he find the back of the net again? #saintsfc pic.twitter.com/Qa11VTTemC
— Southampton FC (@SouthamptonFC) August 27, 20157.42pmHere come the boys. Both sets of players enter the field of play and we're minutes away. As it stands, the Saints are losing on away goals, but they've got 90 minutes to change the complexion of this tie. Let's go.
1 minKICKOFF: And we're off here in Denmark. Midtjylland, playing from left to right, in their red kit, get us underway. Big game this for both sides.
3 minWe saw Kian Hanse's threat from throw-ins last week, and it seems like we'll see more of the same tonight after the right-back lobs a Rory Delap-esque ball into the box, but Pelle does his bit defensive to clear.
4 minOFF THE LINE! What a start this would've been for the Saints, as Jose Fonte improvises well to head Ward Prowse's corner on target, and it looks like heading home but Jakob Poulsen is well placed to head off the line. Good defending.
6 minCHANCE! Southampton much the better side in these early stages, as Pelle's brilliant ball finds Rodriguez but, instead of volleying first time, he tries to cushion it into the path of Ward-Prowse, whose close-range shot is then blocked. What he was thinking about there I'm not sure.
10 minMidtjylland settle well into the game now following their ominous beginning and they look far more comfortable now. It has its drawbacks, though, because the clash has just gone a little quiet overall.
14 minWe saw Rasumussen last week and he looked shockingly quiet. And he doesn't look a lot more lively tonight it has to be said. The Midtjylland striker has work to do in order to convince me.
18 minMidtjylland haven't come to play tonight unfortunately, but you can understand that, given they don't need to win. 1-1 will see them through on away goals. There'll be lots of play acting and time wasting tonight, just as there was last week.
20 minSHOT! Not bad from James Ward-Prowse, who drills a low and hard volley into the arms of Dahlin from about 25 yards. The rain has began to fall so the wet conditions might favour efforts like that this evening.
23 minSouthampton are going nowhere in this game. They're just lobbing the ball up to Pelle over and over again, and it's not sticking to the big Italian as it would do usually. Then the attack just breaks up.
23 minSHOT! Good shot from Davis, but his close-range effort is well saved by Dahlin following good work from Pelle to help create the chance. Maybe, just maybe, they're warming up.
27 minGOAL! Midtjylland 1-0 Southampton (Rasmussen)
28 minUh oh. We slagged Rasmussen off a little, but he's had the last laugh here. Rodriguez, deep in his own half, inexplicably loses possession to Bach Bak, who fires in a low cross and Rasmussen nips in ahead of Fonte before casually finishing beyond Stekelenburg. Fine finish. It doesn't change much for Southampton, who still need to score.
32 minRight, we're 13 minutes from the break and Southampton still toiling unfortunately. We said 3-1 to Midtjylland before kickoff and I'm sticking to that prediction.
36 minIncidentally, Dortmund are beating Odd 4-1 at Signal Iduna Park. Do you know what the aggregate score is, with over half of the second leg left? 8-4. Send a few goals this way if you want, lads.
38 minBOOKING: Rodriguez goes into the book for trying to pick up Lauridsen, who has gone to ground twice holding his face now. It's a time-wasting tactic, but it's very hard to prove this.
40 minSHOT! Not far away from Pione Sisto, who curls just over the bar as Midtjylland hunt a second goal.
44 minMidtjylland are finishing this half on top but it looks like we're going into the break at 1-0. Probably deserved. Southampton haven't really done much in this first 45 minutes. It's been frustrating for them.
8.33pmHALF TIME: Midtjylland 1-0 Southampton
45 minKICKOFF: Apologies for the brief delay but we're back in action. Let's go.
48 minCHANCE! What a golden chance for Midtjylland to move 3-1 ahead on aggregate, as Rasmussen, whose first-half opener remains the difference tonight, heads just wide. He should've done a lot better.
52 minYou know what, I don't know if Southampton can score tonight, folks. They look slightly better, but Midtjylland still look comfortable as ever in defence. Hmm. We predicted Southampton would go out and it's looking like that at this stage.
55 minLooks like Dusan Tadic is being readied, and thank god because Southampton need a creative spark and Tadic will certainly provide that.
57 minSUB: Yep, Tadic replaces Steven Caulker as Koeman switches personnel and his shape, reverting to a normal back four, having started with five defenders.
59 minSHOT! The Serbian looks to have an immediate impact on proceedings as he drops the shoulder to beat a couple of red shirts, before firing narrowly over the bar.
61 minRomeu has been dreadful over both of these legs. He really has. On the positive note, Southampton have been much better since Tadic has come on Koeman altered his shape a little. They're not playing it long to Pelle anymore; instead, it's on the deck and it's so much better from the first half. However, the fact is that they're still 2-1 down on aggregate.
65 minMidtjylland's appeals for an indirect free kick are waved away after Stekelenburg picked up Martina's touch, which looked frightfully like a back pass, but the referee is having none of it. It's been all Midtjylland in recent minutes.
67 minOh god. This is a brilliant run from Sisto, who turns poor Martina inside out, but his final ball, after about seven dummies, is useless and trickles out for a throw-in on the other side.
68 minSUB: That'll be Pione Sisto's last act as he's replaced by Rilwan Hassan. Meanwhile, Saints have a free kick in a dangerous position.
70 minBOOKING: That free kick comes to nothing, but newcomer Hassan nicks the ball from Ward-Prowse as he looked to break at speed but, after knocking it past Targett, the jet-heeled winger is taken out by the left-back. No complaints.
73 minSouthampton are lying siege to the Midtjylland goal now, but the hosts are defending well so far. There's 17 minutes left and what a big 17 minutes it is for both these clubs. Neither have ever reached the group stages of a major European competition.
76 minCorner for the Saints now as the urgency is cranked up a notch. Shane Long looks like he's coming on.
78 minThat corner, and the one directly after, came to nothing. Really disappointing deliveries on both occasions and, well, the Saints are running out of time now it seems.
82 minCHANCE! Oh god this would've been a fantastic goal, as Pusic exchanges an excellent one-two with Rasmussen, before curling just over the bar. Seriously, I can't express how close that was.
85 minFive minutes to go and Southampton still toiling. Midtjylland have been excellent over both legs and they definitely deserve to progress overall. Definitely. Southampton haven't been good enough in this tie.
88 minTime rapidly running out for Koeman and co....
90 minFOUR MINUTES ADDED ON: Based on the hosts' time wasting over both legs we probably should've had another 45 minutes, but it's only four. Can they do it?
90 + 1 minSaints are camped in their half but still toiling. The Danes three minutes from glory.
90 + 3 minHassan should've wrapped it up after being played through on goal by Tasic, but his tame, angled effort is never testing Stekelenburg. About 90 seconds to go.
9.38pmFULL TIME: Midtjylland 1-0 Southampton
9.39pmMidtjylland are in the group stages!!!! What an excellent performance over two legs to ease into the group stages. Southampton just weren't good enough. Not here and not last week. Very poor for them overall, and it's Midtjylland who join Liverpool, Spurs and Celtic in tomorrow's draw instead of the Saints. Anywho, that's us. Thanks for joining our live text coverage and we'll see you next time.
