On Thursday evening in Malta, the penultimate 2018 World Cup qualification Group F match took place.
Malta hosted Lithuania's national team football players, coached by Edgaras Jankauskas, in front of their own fans. Malta managed to secure their first point in this qualification stage against struggling Lithuanians - the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
In the starting lineup after a long period were defenders Vytautas Andriuškevičius and Edvinas Girdvainis, as well as forward Deivydas Matulevičius.
In the 7th minute, the first dangerous situation near Malta's goal was recorded. After a beautiful pass from Fedor Chernykh to Arvydas Novikovas on the left side of the penalty area, the latter tried to find the goal in front of his teammates, but the opponents neutralized the pass.
After ten minutes, A. Novikovas tested goalkeeper Andrew Hogg's alertness with a deceptive shot from outside the penalty area. However, the goalkeeper deflected the ball in front of him and the opponents managed to defend against a potential danger.
In the 22nd minute, Mantas Kuklys received a yellow card for trying to stop a potentially dangerous opponent attack. This card means that the player will miss the match against England.
Soon after, Malta managed to take the lead - Andre Agius took advantage of the unexpected factor and unleashed a powerful shot from far away, finding the ball in the left corner of the goal.
Immediately after the conceded goal, the Lithuanians could have equalized. After a pass from the flank, Deivydas Matulevičius controlled the ball, but it hit the post.
During the break, Edgaras Jankauskas made a substitution - Marius Papšys appeared on the field instead of Nerijus Valskis, marking his first match for the national team since the 2012 Baltic Cup tournament.
Lithuania soon managed to equalize. In the 53rd minute, Vykintas Slivka received a pass near the center near the penalty area and, pulling the ball forward, made a great shot into the top left corner.
Our team continued to search for opportunities up front, but Malta also threatened and forced goalkeeper Emilijus Zubas to act. In the 72nd minute, he pushed away a cunning shot from Clayton Failla towards the right corner of the goal, and later the Lithuanian had to deal with an unpleasant rebound after Paulo Fenech's set-piece.
At the end of the match, E. Jankauskas sent Luka Spalvis onto the field, but his and his teammates' efforts were not enough to expand the long-awaited victory.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, marking Malta's first point in this qualification cycle. Lithuania remains in fifth place with six points, and on Sunday will play their final match against the England national team at the LFF Stadium.
Match statistics:
Malta - Lithuania 1-1 (1-0)
"Ta'Qali" Stadium
Referee - Z. Hovhannisyan (Armenia)
Goals: 23 min. A. Agius (1-0), 53 min. V. Slivka (1-1).
Yellow cards: 22 min. M. Kuklys (Lithuania), 42 min. E. Girdvainis (Lithuania), 74 min. Z. Muscat (Malta).
Lithuania: Emilijus Zubas, Tomas Mikuckis, Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Deivydas Matulevičius (80 min. Lukas Spalvis), Arvydas Novikovas, Vykintas Slivka, Edvinas Girdvainis, Mantas Kuklys, Nerijus Valskis (46 min. Marius Papšys), Fedor Chernych, Vytautas Andriuškevičius.
Substitutes: Vytautas Černiauskas, Ernestas Šetkus, Georgas Freidgeimas, Tadas Kijanskas, Vaidotas Šilėnas, Artūras Žulpa, Karolis Chvedukas, Ovidijus Verbickas, Valdemaras Borovskis.
Group F:
1. England (23 points)
2. Scotland (17 points)
3. Slovakia (15 points)
4. Slovenia (14 points)
5. Lithuania (6 points)
6. Malta (1 point)
