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After the victory against Liechtenstein, in a press conference, Csaba Laszlo, the coach of the Lithuanian national football team, praised his players and said that it was important to have patience and stick to the game plan.
Laszlo's comments:
"After the match in Latvia, the team was able to recover and secure a victory. We should be happy with this win. Liechtenstein barely - 1:0 - defeated Greece, while the Slovaks and Latvians lost two points each.
It was important to have patience. I told the players - don't rush, keep control of the ball, press the opponents, let them run. In the first half, we did that well. In the second half, we got a bit tired.
Our strategy when leading 2:0 was to control the ball, lure the opponents a bit, and create space on the flanks. However, the Liechtenstein team did not want to open up. In the last 20-30 minutes, we took the initiative ourselves and had good chances to score, but we didn't capitalize on them.
I want to praise my team, because two years ago we lost to Liechtenstein away and drew at home. Today we won quite convincingly. The players did what was important, despite some looking fatigued after two consecutive matches. I'm glad the team earned three points. Now we have eight and two more matches at home.
About V.Andriuškevičius, I was considering him before the match against Latvia, but then I chose M.Stankevičius for experience. However, Marius is now mentally and physically tired. Choosing K.Ivaškevičius was an easy decision, as we switched to a 4-2-3-1 tactical scheme. The opponents played with Greece in a 4-1-4-1 formation. We decided that M.Kalonas could play the role of the game organizer in these matches.
It was also important for us to neutralize Michele Polverino and Sandro Wieser. These players are the most creative in the Liechtenstein team, the heart of the team. We managed to stop them, and the opponents created almost nothing.
If Edgaras Česnauskis didn't need a substitution, I think I would have brought in Gratas Sirgėdas earlier and given Luka Spalvis a chance. I wanted to send them both onto the field. As I mentioned before, I want to give opportunities to young players and I stick to my mindset."
