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The second stage of the UEFA Champions League did not start well for the Lithuanian champions Panevėžio "Ekranas" - at home, they had to admit the overwhelming superiority of the strongest Croatian team, Zagreb's "Dinamo." The return match will take place on August 2nd in the Croatian capital.
Panevėžio "Aukštaitijos" stadium Referee - Tony Asumaa (Finland) Panevėžio 1 - 4 Zagreb "Dinamo" 7' [0 - 1] Eduardo da Silva 14' [1 - 1] Povilas Lukšys 31' [1 - 2] Marijan Buljat 51' [1 - 3] Eduardo da Silva 69' [1 - 4] Davor Vugrinec
"Ekranas" lineup: Skrupskis; Paulauskas, Banevičius, Klimavičius, Mihalčuks (68' Kavaliauskas), Savėnas, Tomkevičius, Varnas (86' Petrauskas); Šlekys (59' Kučys), Lukšys
After a victory in the first stage against the team "Elbasani" from Albania, in the second stage "Ekranas" is facing a significantly more serious opponent - "Dinamo" from Croatia, who have several players from the Croatian national team in their ranks and ambitious goals. The Croatians recently signed a contract with German national team defender Jens Nowotny, although he was not ready for this match. Panevėžys was still missing defender Alfredas Skroblas, while Egidijus Varnas managed to recover from a meniscus operation and took the field.
The match was more active at the beginning for the visitors, who immediately created a dangerous attack towards the "Ekranas" goal, but through their collective efforts, the Panevėžys managed to defend. However, in the seventh minute, "Dinamo" managed to take the lead when Eduardo da Silva overtook Arūnas Klimavičius and, despite pressure, was able to throw the ball past the goalkeeper Arvydas Skrupskis who came out of his goal.
However, "Ekranas" did not give up, and after playing the same amount of time, they equalized the result using probably their first opportunity - after a pass from Varnas from the side, Povilas Lukšys headed the ball into the goal. Inspired by the goal, Panevėžys took the initiative, but their successful period was interrupted by Croatian fans, as one of them ran onto the field and those in the stands clashed with the stadium security.
After the turmoil, the game continued and the score was level. After playing half an hour, following a confusion in the penalty area, their team had to be saved by A. Skrupskis, who pushed Luka Modrić's shot away. But "Ekranas" did not learn, and just a minute later they had to take the ball from their goal for the second time when after a pass from Davor Vugrinec, Marijan Buljat broke into the penalty area and shot into the near corner catching A. Skrupskis unprepared.
The hosts once again equalized the result and in the 39th minute, E. Varnas' shot from an acute angle hit the net from the other side, while on the other side of the field, "Dinamo" responded with a dangerous attack, but Etto's shot from about 10 meters went past the "Ekranas" goal.
"Ekranas" continued their attacks and in the 44th minute, Vaidotas Šlekys' header was somewhat imprecise, while in additional time, Ruslan Mihalčuks' long shot was blocked by the visitors' goalkeeper Ivan Turina. The result remained the same until the end of the first half, and the Lithuanian champions had to go for a break thinking about how to turn the game in their favor.
However, in the third minute of the second half, the hosts were warned about the opponent's strength when L. Modrić turned in the penalty area and shook the crossbar with a powerful shot. The wait didn't last long, and in the 51st minute, the visitors scored the third goal - Brazilian legionnaire E. da Silva found himself alone against the goalkeeper and calmly sent the ball into the top corner.
After the third goal, the game quieted down, as the missed goal by "Ekranas" completely disturbed them, and the Croatians were satisfied with the result. After an hour of play, Mantas Savėnas attempted a long-range shot at goal, but the ball went past the goal, and in the 69th minute, "Dinamo" scored again. Making a mistake in calling for offside, a completely free Etto ran away and after his pass to the center, D. Vugrinec was left close to "shoot" A. Skrupskis.
In the 74th minute, the visitors scored again, but the goal was disallowed for offside, while five minutes later another M. Savėnas attempt to score with a shot from a distance ended only with a corner kick earned. The Croatian champions secured a crushing 4-1 victory away, practically guaranteeing themselves a ticket to the third stage of the tournament.
