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Today, at Vilnius "Žalgiris" stadium, the second round of Intertoto Cup return leg matches was played, where Vilnius "Vetra" and Edinburgh "Hibernian" clubs faced each other. The victory with a score of 1-0 was achieved by the "Vetra" football players. Nerijus Vasiliauskas scored at the 61st minute of the match.
The first leg match between these clubs in Scotland ended in a 1-1 draw. Therefore, the Vilnius team securing a victory at home moves on to the next stage of the Intertoto Cup. There they will meet the Danish team "Esbjerg," which defeated the French club by a joint result of 2-1.
Team lineups:
"Vetra": Poškus, Grudzinskas, Sasnauskas, Raliukonis, Žudys, Beaud, Rimkus, Butrimavičius, Šernas, Vasiliauskas, Karvelis.
Substitutes: Merkelis, Kontautas, Kijanskas, Vaineikis, Litvinas, Stonkus, Mižigurskis.
"Hibernian": A.Brown, Whittaker, Al.Reid, Caldwell, Murdock, Nicol, S.Brown, Brebner, Orman, O'Connor, Morrow.
Substitutes: An.Reid, Smith, Glass, McManus, McDonald, Shields, Dobbie
The lovely weather in Vilnius and the important match drew more than a couple of thousand football fans to the "Žalgiris" stadium. However, they were almost disappointed in the first minutes, when Morrow and O'Connor's close range shots had to be rejected by the goalkeeper, Poškus.
The game gradually evened out, and in the 15th minute, the hosts had the first chance, but after Butrimavičius' attempt with his head, goalkeeper Brown brilliantly saved and rebounded the ball into a corner.
Shortly after, the same goalkeeper almost made a mistake, as after Beaud's strong shot from a distance, he managed to catch the ball only on the second attempt. Then, the visitors had a chance, but Morrow's shot from ten meters went wide.
In the 34th minute, O'Connor received a pass from Whittaker, headed the ball to Orman, who struck it over himself, but Poškus managed to defend by tipping the ball over the goal. A few minutes before the end of the half, Šernas jumped ahead of the goalkeeper but his shot went wide, although it was slightly disturbed by the "Vetra" defender Reid.
After the break, the Vilnius team took the initiative and started pressing the opponents. They created several opportunities to score - first, on the right side of the penalty area, Stonkus managed to shoot wide after breaking past a defender, and later, on a counterattack, Karvelis' attempt from 15 meters failed.
A corner kick was awarded a few minutes later, Vasiliauskas headed the ball, it hit the crossbar, and to the disappointment of the spectators, bounced off from the "Hibernian" goal.
The goal came in the 60th minute under odd circumstances: a Vilnius player tried to shoot after a corner kick, the ball hit a Scotsman's leg, flew high, and to everyone's astonishment, landed in the goal. The goalkeeper didn't handle the situation very successfully, and the goal was credited to Vasiliauskas, who seemed to have been the last to touch the ball.
The guests immediately tried to equalize, but Nicolas shot wide from 17 meters. "Vetra" defended well and didn't allow the opponents to come close to their goal, and at times, they themselves created dangerous attacks. In one of them, Sasnauskas shot from the edge of the penalty area, but Brown blocked the ball into a corner.
The match was nearing its end, and the Scots could not create any more dangerous opportunities. "Vetra" could have doubled the lead when Vasiliauskas received a free pass, but his header from five meters was inaccurate.
In extra time, "Hibernian" played on the left side, passed the ball into the penalty area, then another pass followed to Nicol, but luckily his shot from eight meters flew over the goal. This was the last attack of the match, as the referee from Poland immediately blew the final whistle after this episode.
