E. Jankauskas: it's a pity for the guys who played a great match.

2024-09-10 09:39 © lff.lt

The Lithuanian national team suffered their second defeat on Monday evening, dramatically losing 1:3 to group favorites Romania in the C division of the Nations League at the end of the match.

The Lithuanians, who played quality football, equalized the score in the first half with Armando Kučys' goal. They scored again at the end of the second half, but that goal was disallowed after a VAR review. A few minutes later, after a long VAR review, a penalty was awarded against the goal defended by Edvinas Gertmonas, which the hosts converted to secure victory.

Speaking after the match, Lithuania's coach Edgaras Jankauskas did not hide his disappointment over the way the match ended.

"I feel very sorry for our guys, who played excellently today. They gave a lot of effort, fought hard, displayed all the qualities that are characteristic of us, but... We started the first half getting a strong knockdown, but that showed the team's character, that we managed to return to the fight against such a strong opponent, a technically skilled team that participates in the European Championship."

"We equalized the score, we had more chances, in the second half we started to run out of energy, but we kept to our agreements, created chances, scored a goal, which was disallowed…”

"When the referee looks at the screen for so long, the decision can go either way; today both of those decisions were negative for us. I believe that the Romanians have enough quality to manage their own affairs. It is very unfortunate that the teams were not allowed to decide for themselves which was more deserving of victory,” the coach candidly expressed.

He emphasized that he was not satisfied with some of the refereeing decisions in the match against Cyprus on Friday either.

"It’s not the first time, and in the game against Cyprus, we had an obvious episode where our player was knocked down in the penalty area, but the whistle remained silent. But in this match, there was a fantastic experience for fans in the stadium and in front of television screens; however, I must repeat, it’s a shame that the teams, eleven against eleven, were not allowed to decide the outcome of the match,” the strategist recounted.

Still, he was impressed by how the team recovered after conceding a goal at the start of the match, and for that, he has many positive thoughts about the quality of the game his team displayed.

"This is a very technical, very fast team; we tried to counterattack quickly, but what pleases me the most is our players' belief that they can play well against such good teams and be equal opponents. This result doesn’t sadden me as much because I saw the quality of the match we had today,” Jankauskas elaborated.

What did the coach say to the players in the locker room after the match?

"In the locker room, I told them they should be proud of themselves. Of course, results, victories, and points are needed. We had it in our hands, but it slipped away. I really don’t want to shift the blame onto someone else, but there are many more things we can take pride in despite this result,” the coach reflected.

The next match for the Lithuanians in the Nations League will be on October 12, when they host the Kosovo team at home.