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The Lithuanian Women's Futsal National Team played their second match in the qualification tournament for the 2022 UEFA European Women's Futsal Championship in Jonava. In the friendly match, the Lithuanian team suffered a 0:1 defeat to the Northern Ireland team, conceding a goal at the beginning of the second half. In the first half, the Lithuanian team created more opportunities than their opponents, but the closest chance to score was by Hannah Firth of the rival team, whose shot hit the crossbar in the 13th minute. Shots by Dovilė Dockaitė, Dorotėja Aidukaitė, and Indrė Apkevičiūtė were successfully saved by the visiting goalkeeper. In the early stages of the second half, the Lithuanian team had two good opportunities to score goals but were unable to convert them into goals. However, shortly after, during a counterattack, the Northern Ireland team scored a goal, with Olivia Brown as the scorer. After conceding the goal, the Lithuanians created pressure on the opponent's goal and forced them to defend patiently. D. Dockaitė took the most shots, followed by D. Aidukaitė, K. Liužinaitė, and Simona Bagavičiūtė, but their chances were neutralized by the reliable goalkeeper Alice Harkness. The Northern Irish team managed to secure a satisfactory result and achieve their first victory in the European Championship qualifier stage.
"The opponents showed resilience, they waited for their moment, and our single mistake determined the result. It's good that we didn't concede more goals, our defense worked much more securely than yesterday, so I can praise the players for their efforts. However, having spent so much energy in defense, we lacked it in the attack phase when trying to capitalize on our chances. The upcoming match with the Serbians won't be easy, considering that they are a strong team with experience. However, this will be our last match in this tournament, so maybe we'll play without pressure, be more active in attack, of course, emphasizing defense," commented the national team's head coach Donatas Gražulis.
Match statistics: Lithuania - Northern Ireland 0:1 (0:0) Jonava Sports Arena, referee - Tatjana Boltneva (Russia) Goal: 22 min. 57 sec. Olivia Brown (Northern Ireland) Yellow cards: 11 min. Hannah Firth, 12 min. 31 sec. Megan Weatherall (Northern Ireland)
