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Vilnius "Vėtra" football players started their UEFA Intertoto Cup tournament unsuccessfully. On Sunday, the capital club lost 0-1 at home to one of the strongest Irish teams, Dublin's "Shelbourne", and significantly complicated their chances of reaching the second stage.
Vilnius 0 - 1 Dublin "Shelbourne" 42' [0 - 1] Sean Dillon
"Vėtra": Merlani; Žudys, Sasnauskas, A.Jankauskas, Usačiov; Vėževičius (74' Blažys), Preikšaitis, Vencevičius (46' Božinovski), Miloševski, Šernas (79' Kochanauskas); Kuznecov
"Vėtra", participating in the tournament for the third consecutive year, was in a difficult situation before the European matches - the team, having ambitious plans, started the Lithuanian championship unsuccessfully and ended up in the middle of the tournament table in the "A League", so the head coach Edgaras Gessas resigned from his duties last Tuesday. His temporary replacement Vytas Jančiauskas could not field two experienced players - goalkeeper Vaidas Žutautas did not play due to illness, and defender Julius Raliukonis was disqualified from the previous year. Due to injuries, Greg O’Halloran and Gary O’Neill, former Irish champions with "Shelbourne", did not play.
In a sparsely filled "Vėtra" stadium, the teams started the match calmly and did not immediately attack, so there were almost no dangerous situations created at either end for almost the entire first half. In the 30th minute, the Irish had the first real chance to score, but Algis Jankauskas made a mistake and Alan Moore, after taking the ball, found himself alone in front of the goalkeeper. Mirza Merlani managed to block the opponent's shot.
However, at the end of the first half, the visitors scored - after Bobby Ryan's penalty kick, "Vėtra" goalkeeper Mirza Merlani carelessly left the goal, collided with his defender, failed to catch a high pass into the penalty area, and defender Sean Dillon scored a crucial goal into the empty Vilnius team's goal without any difficulties.
At the beginning of the second half, "Vėtra" took the initiative, and in the second minute of the half, Dejan Miloševski almost equalized the score with a penalty kick, but the first goal scorer Sean Dillon this time saved his team by heading the ball out from the goal line. Nerijus Sasnauskas had a dangerous header after a corner, but the guests' goalkeeper Dean Delaney played reliably.
As the half progressed, the hosts began to press the opponents more, and in the 52nd minute, Sergej Kuznecov failed to score with a shot in the penalty area, and then D. Miloševski's shot was off target. After an hour of play, Robertas Vėževičius had a chance to score with a ricochet, but the goalkeeper of the Vilnius team saved the shot from the penalty area.
Soon after, the visitors responded with a dangerous attack, but the header was off target, and in the 67th minute, A. Jankauskas failed to score from a corner in the same manner. The "Vėtra" attacks gradually subsided, and in the 74th minute, after Glen Crowe's long-range shot, M. Merlani was already saving his goal, and then from the corner, the same G. Crowe tried to swing a shot towards the top corner of the "Vėtra" goal, but D. Miloševski defended the shot on the goal line.
In the end of the match, the last attempts by the hosts to equalize were unsuccessful, and the visitors from Ireland still had a chance to increase their advantage, but the result did not change - "Vėtra" had to admit defeat and hope for revenge in the return leg in Dublin.
During the post-match press conference, "Vėtra" coach Vytautas Jančiauskas congratulated the opponents on their deserved victory and stated that they lost to a strong opponent, but the one who will advance to the next stage will be decided in the return leg.
"Before the match, we had to make changes in the team composition. We were forced to field a goalkeeper who had not had serious match practice recently. We chose a cautious tactic, with only one forward on the field, as we saw in the videos that the opponents' strong point was playing in the middle of the field," said V. Jančiauskas.
"We lost to a powerful opponent who is fighting for the Irish championship. However, the fight does not end with these matches. In the return leg in Ireland, we will make adjustments. We do not give up, and we will try to achieve a favorable result as guests," V. Jančiauskas added without losing hope.
"We were quite unhappy with the quality of the training field (editor's note - the Irish trained at the "Žalgiris" stadium), but the conditions at this stadium were better, and I do not want to complain. We won against a strong opponent after a tough fight. I am happy with the victory achieved away from home," said "Shelbourne" coach Patrick Fenlon.
Asked about the goals set for the "Shelbourne" club in the Intertoto tournament, the Irish coach replied that the most important thing now is to overcome the first stage. The return leg matches will take place on June 24 in Ireland.
