© EuroFootball.com
After the only Panevėžys "Ekranas" match on Tuesday, on Wednesday, all the remaining matches of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round were played. Lithuanian clubs had different outcomes - Liepaja's "Metalurgs" had to admit a crushing victory to Kiev's "Dynamo", while Edinburgh's "Hearts" defeated the "Široki Brijeg" team in the second half.
Under the coaching of Benjaminas Zelkevičius, Latvian champions in Liepaja faced the strongest Ukrainian team Dynamo Kiev, and on the field, in the defensive line, four Lithuanians Darius Miceika, Mindaugas Kalonas, Tomas Tamošauskas, and Artūras Rimkevičius played together. Vadimas Petrenko remained on the bench.
The first half unfolded disastrously for the hosts - after goals from Diogo Rincon, Maksim Shatskikh, and Mario Vrakopovskis in the 20th, 29th, and 32nd minutes, the visitors led 3-0. Towards the end of the second half, Metalurgs had a chance to reduce the deficit when M. Kalonas broke through and passed the ball to D. Miceika, but he was brought down in the penalty area and the referee awarded a penalty. However, Latvian forward Girts Karlsons took the penalty weakly and Aleksandras Šovkovskis saved the shot.
In the second half, M. Kalonas and Lithuanian substitute Nerijus Astrauskas had opportunities to score, but the fourth goal for Dynamo was scored in the 82nd minute by Goran Gavrančičius. However, the hosts managed to score a consolation goal - M. Kalonas found the net three minutes before the end of the match. Therefore, just like "Ekranas" on Tuesday, Metalurgs had to admit Dynamo's superiority at home with a score of 1-4.
Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, the team coached by Valdas Ivanauskas, played against "Široki Brijeg". The match started with Deividas Česnauskis and Edgaras Jankauskas in the starting lineup, while Saulius Mikoliūnas had to watch the beginning of the match from the bench, and Nerijus Barasa couldn't help the Scottish club due to injury.
In front of almost 29,000 viewers at Scotland's rugby "Murrayfield" stadium, the hosts struggled to break through the defense of their Bosnian opponents and had to settle for a goalless draw in the first part of the match. However, eight minutes after the break, Hearts broke through when Branimiras Aničius scored with a header.
D. Česnauskis came close to scoring, but his shot went wide, and after Bruno Aguiar's penalty hit the post, Ibrahim Tallis doubled the lead for Hearts in the 79th minute, and six minutes later, Roman Bednar scored the third goal, securing the Scottish club's dominating lead and a calm response to the match. D. Česnauskis was named the best player of the match.
Results of all Wednesday's second round matches:
Tiraspol "Sheriff" (Moldova) 1 - 1 Moscow "Spartak" (Russia)
Liepaja's "Metalurgs" (Latvia) 1 - 4 Kiev "Dynamo" (Ukraine)
Sofia "Levski" (Bulgaria) 2 - 0 Bolnisi "Sioni" (Georgia)
"Djurgårdens" (Sweden) 1 - 0 Ružomberok "MFK" (Slovakia)
Istanbul "Fenerbahce" (Turkey) 4 - 0 Tórshavn "B36" (Faroe Islands)
Nova Gorica's "Gorica" (Slovenia) 0 - 2 Bucharest "Steaua" (Romania)
"Zurich" (Switzerland) 2 - 1 Salzburg "Red Bull" (Austria)
"Hafnarfjördur" (Iceland) 0 - 1 Warsaw "Legia" (Poland)
"Debrecen" (Hungary) 1 - 1 Skopje "Rabotnicki" (Macedonia)
"Copenhagen" (Denmark) 2 - 0 "MyPa" (Finland)
Cork City (Ireland) 0 - 1 Belgrade "Crvena Zvezda" (Serbia)
Edinburgh "Hearts (Scotland) 3 - 0 "Široki Brijeg" (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
"Mlada Boleslav" (Czech Republic) 3 - 1 Oslo "Vålerenga" (Norway)
