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"Vėtra" from Vilnius, occupying the 5th place in the A Lyga, continues successful matches in the UEFA Intertoto Cup. For the first time in the history of Lithuanian football, "Vėtra" reached the third stage of the cup and today at home played 1-1 with the "Esbjerg" team, keeping their hopes alive to advance to the semifinals. - 1 - 1 41' [0 - 1] Jess Thorup 68' [1 - 1] Both teams started cautiously, especially the hosts, who found it difficult to transition through the midfield. The guests were the first to attempt a shot, but Thorup's header missed and Berglund's shot was unsuccessful. Vasiliauskas from Vilnius' opponents threatened the goal first, trying a shot from afar. The guests attacked more often from the right side, and in one of the attacks, they managed to pass the ball into the penalty area, but the opportunity to shoot was delayed, and Šernas managed to defend. The game slowed down as both teams struggled to get closer to the opponents' goal. However, with five minutes left until the end of the first half, "Esbjerg" earned a couple of corners, and in one of them, the team's captain Jess Thorup headed the ball into the net. Just before the break, "Vėtra" coach Valdas Ivanauskas received another blow - one of the team's leaders, striker Nerijus Vasiliauskas, seemed to have injured his ankle and left the field, replaced by Saulius Kijanskas. The Vilnius team became more active at the beginning of the second half, but as they approached the midfield, they lacked precise passing. In the 52nd minute, Lucena took a very dangerous shot from about 23 meters, but the ball went past the post. "Vėtra" gradually picked up the pace and played better. In the 57th minute, Beaudas passed the ball to Sasnauskas, but his shot from 25 meters went over the goal. Then Sasnauskas passed the ball to Vaneikis, but his attempt from the edge of the penalty area was unsuccessful. Later, Karvelis took a corner, and the Danish goalkeeper Winde played insecurely, almost sending the ball into his own goal, but corrected the mistake with a second attempt. In the 68th minute, a penalty was awarded on the right side, a pass was made into the penalty area, where a jumping Karvelis headed the ball into the far corner of the goal. The opponents responded with a dangerous shot from Berglund soon after. The Vilnius team continued to control the game and tried to push forward - Karvelis' shot from the edge of the penalty area went straight to Winde, and later Beaudas' shot from 30 meters was slightly off target. In the 77th minute, after a corner, the goalkeeper jumped for the ball, and defender Raliukonis had a chance, but his header went over the goal. Douglas, who replaced Šernas, entered the game well and added life to "Vėtra's" attack. In the 80th minute, he took the ball and tried his luck from a distance, but hit it straight at the Danish goalkeeper. Four minutes later, after another corner, the ball flew past everyone, and Rimkus shot from a sharp angle, but this time the goalkeeper managed to save by deflecting the ball beyond the goal line. With five minutes left in the game, in a dangerous home team attack, the ball was passed into the penalty area, where Douglas failed to shoot at first, then Rimkaus' attempt was blocked by a defender, and on the second attempt, the "Vėtra" goalkeeper missed the ball, which eventually went to the Danish goalkeeper. Nevertheless, "Vėtra" failed to score a winning goal, so in the return match which will take place next Saturday in Denmark, they will need to beat the opponent's goalkeeper at least once. In the next Sunday match, "Nantes" defeated "Cork" 3-1, while the matches between "Tampere" and Belgrade "OFK" ended goalless.
