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Mud baths in international matches, it seems, are not foreign not only to Lithuania, but also to Albania. In a friendly match held in the capital of this country, Tirana, the hosts proved on the muddy field that at home, mud can also contribute to victory: the match ended 4-1. In this friendly match, Lithuanian coach Csaba Laszlo had to deal with much thinner ranks than on Friday in Slovakia: many leaders left due to injuries or club requirements, which mostly affected the defense. The specialist from Hungary decided to entrust the defensive roles in an unusual duo: recently recovered from injury Markas Palionis and George Freidgeim, who usually plays on the side, were in the center of the field, with Andrius Bartkus taking the place of the suspended Deividas Šemberas, however, the lack of cooperation was obvious and turned into an advantage for the opponents. However, the first goal did not come from a defensive mistake: in the 33rd minute a spectacular penalty kick from more than 30 meters by E.Šetkus left no hope for A.Meha. Taking advantage of the confusion of the Lithuanians, the Albanians soon scored two more goals, after which the outcome of the match became clear: in the 38th minute, evading Palionis, the goalkeeper, E.Cani defeated the 44-minute sharp pass from 12 meters into a goal by M.Basha. At the end of the half, Linas Pilibaitis could have narrowed the gap, but shot slightly inaccurately from a distance. After the break, the Lithuanian national team took the initiative, however, in the 59th minute they painfully missed another goal: after trying to eliminate the danger with a pass from the side to their own goal, Palionis made a mistake. However, they managed to avoid the humiliating "dry" result: in the 75th minute, after Edgaras Česnauskis' header from a penalty, the tall Klaipėda "Atlantas" forward Evaldas Razulis softened the gap. At the end of the match, the Lithuanians had several more opportunities to score, but did not take advantage of them and returned to the clubs with mixed feelings: the successful result in Slovakia was followed by a painful failure that will not improve Lithuania's position in the FIFA rankings. Albania 4 - 1 Lithuania 33' [1 - 0] A.Meha 38' [2 - 0] E.Cani 44' [3 - 0] M.Basha 59' [4 - 0] M.Palionis (own goal) 75' [4 - 1] E.Raziulis Line-up of the Lithuanian national team: Lithuania: Ernestas Šetkus (61 min. Emilijus Zubas), Vytautas Andriuškevičius (85 min. Saulius Mikoliūnas), Mindaugas Palionis, Georgas Freidgeimas, Deividas Česnauskis, Edgaras Česnauskis, Fedor Černych (46 min. Evaldas Razulis), Arvydas Novikovas, Andrius Bartkus (73 min. Martynas Dapkus), Linas Pilibaitis (64 min. Mindaugas Kalonas), Deivydas Matulevičius. Albania: Etrit Berisha, Andi Lila (77 min. Elseid Hysaj), Tefik Osmani, Ansi Agolli, Edgar Çani (63 min. Armando Sadiku), Sabien Lilaj (80 min. Emiliano Vila), Mërgim Mavraj, Migjen Basha, Alban Meha (76 min. Jahmir Hyka), Erjon Bogdani (70 min. Lorik Cana), Valdet Rama (63 min. Armando Vajushi). Substitutes: Samir Ujkani, Orges Shehi, Armend Dallku, Franc Veliu, Ervin Bulku, Odhise Roshi.
