On Thursday, the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round matches were played in the old continent. Two Lithuanian clubs successfully passed the first round - Marijampolė's "Sūduva" and "Trakai".
In the first match, Marijampolė's "Sūduva" had difficulties with the Latvians, but even in case of defeat, they advanced to the third qualifying round, where they will face "Sion" from Switzerland.
The residents of Marijampolė defeated "Liepaja" in Latvia with a score of 2-0, making them the clear favorites to move forward. "Liepaja" pressed the bronze medalists of the A league from the start of the match and scored a goal, but ultimately had to admit the advantage of the Lithuanians with an overall result of 1-2.
In the 57th minute, the Latvian team scored with Seydina Keita. "Liepaja" needed another goal to at least reach extra time, but "Sūduva" handled the pressure from the opponents and gifted their fans with at least two more additional European matches.
The match in Vilnius caused much more excitement, where "Trakai" demonstrated true character - they bounced back after losing to "Norrkoping" in Sweden, went into extra time, and advanced after a penalty shootout.
The first match in Sweden ended with a 2-1 victory for the hosts. "Trakai" did not give up and took the lead in the first half with a two-goal advantage - Maksimas Maksimovas scored a brace in the 11th and 35th minutes.
"Trakai" looked better than their opponents throughout the main time, but conceded a painful goal in the 86th minute, leading both teams into extra 30 minutes. During extra time, "Norrkoping" players seemed stronger, but "Trakai" did not concede another goal and went on to fight in a penalty shootout.
In the penalty shootout, "Trakai" were unstoppable - all five kicks were accurate, and the opponents' second attempt hitting the post led the Lithuanian vice-champions to advance to the third round.
In the next round, "Trakai" will face a favorable opponent - Macedonian vice-champions "Shkendija", who defeated Finnish team "HJK" with an overall result of 4-2.
Both "Sūduva" and "Trakai" will play their first third round qualifying matches on July 27, and the return matches on August 3.
Results:
"Sūduva" 0 - 1 "Liepaja"
(First match: 2-0, final result: 2-1)
57' [0 - 1] S. Keita
"Trakai" 2 - 1 "Norrkoping" (Penalty shootout: 5-3)
(First match: 1-2, final result: 3-3)
11' [1 - 0] M. Maksimov
35' [2 - 0] M. Maksimov
86' [2 - 1] S. Skrabb
