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The performance of the Lithuanian champion FBK "Kaunas" in the Baltic League ended in the quarterfinals, where they played against the strongest Latvian team "Ventspils" from last year. After the main match ended in a 1-1 draw, the victory for the Latvians was determined by a more successful penalty shootout.
"Kaunas" 1 - 1 "Ventspils" (penalty shootout 2-4) 51' [0 - 1] Vits Rimkus 63' [1 - 1] Oleg Strakhanovic
"Kaunas": Malinauskas; Radžius, Kančelskis, Bagužis (68' Kijanskas), Mendy; Kunevičius, Kvaratskhelia, Kšanavičius, Pilibaitis (58' Pehlic (85' Fattakhov)); Beniušis (46' Strakhanovic), Ledesma (23' V.Hleb)
The teams started cautiously, and in the middle of the first half, "Kaunas" lost Brazilian Rafael to injury, who was replaced by Viacheslav Hleb. Later, the best chances to score were missed by Ričardas Beniušis and Belarusian V.Hleb.
At the beginning of the second half, "Ventspils" took the lead - Lithuanian-born Latvian Vitas Rimkus scored after about six minutes. However, the lead of the Latvian champions was short-lived, as in the middle of the half, Belarusian legionnaire Oleg Strachanovich equalized with a long-range shot after coming on as a substitute.
Neither team dared to take risks, so the match ended in a draw, and the winner was determined in a penalty shootout according to the tournament rules. The Latvians did better in the shootout - they converted four shots, while "Kaunas" failed due to misses by Marius Činikas and O.Strakhanovic.
In the semifinals, "Ventspils" will face the Tiraspol "Sheriff" (Moldova) club, which defeated Borisov's "BATE" (Belarus) with a minimal lead of 1-0 in the next quarterfinal match.
In the second semifinal clash, Taškent "Pakhtakor" (Uzbekistan) won against Belgrade "OFK" (Serbia) with a scoreline of 1-1 after penalties 4-2, while Moscow's "CSKA" (Russia) triumphed over "Baku" (Azerbaijan) club in another penalty shootout with a score of 3-2 in the dry match.
