The Women's A League returned to Lithuanian stadiums after the summer break on Saturday. Šiauliai Central Stadium hosted a meeting of neighbouring sides in the table: Lithuanian champions Gintra and Vilnius MFA Žalgiris-MRU.
After a hard-fought contest in the 12th round, Gintra 1:0 (0–0 at half-time) defeated the visitors from the capital to secure a crucial league victory.
Gintra now have 27 points, while Žalgiris remain on 23. TransINVEST of Vilnius District still lead the league and host Gintra next week.
Starting lineup: G. Lukjančukė, R. Beal, A. Mikutaitė, T. Romanovskaja, S. Amorim, L. Kubiliūtė, L.Ribeiro, T. Brown, L. Spenazzatto, M. Proscevičiūtė (63' min. J. Blaževičiūtė), B. Taylor (80' min. B. David).
Goals:
Gintra: T. Brown (77' min. pen.) – 1.
The hosts looked stronger from the outset, controlling possession and threatening the visitors' goal. Laura Kubiliūtė's cross struck the crossbar. A few minutes later, Lidiane Ribeiro burst dangerously into the penalty area, but her driven pass found no teammate.
Brianna Taylor created danger in the 30th minute, although the visitors managed to clear it. A fierce physical contest continued. The first corner against the hosts came in the 40th minute, but the yellow-and-blacks avoided any serious threat. The opening 45 minutes ended goalless.
The pattern remained much the same after the interval. The hosts continued to control possession but could not convert their chances. In the 55th minute, Ribeiro headed towards goal from a Laura Spenazzatto delivery, but the Brazilian's effort missed the target.
Olamide Adugbe created the biggest threat to Greta Lukjančukė's goal in the 64th minute, firing narrowly wide of the post. Moments later, Gintra had their own chance, but substitute Justina Blaževičiūtė lacked accuracy.
The breakthrough came in the 77th minute, when Canadian Tamara Brown converted a penalty to make it 1–0. Neither side scored again, and Steve Beeks' team celebrated victory.
The UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying tournament will be held in Šiauliai for the third year running. Gintra face Romanian champions FCV Farul in the second-round semi-final on 27 August. The Ukrainian and Georgian champions meet in the other semi-final that day.
The final, deciding the tournament's sole place in the third round of UEFA Women's Champions League qualifying, takes place on 30 August.
Failure to reach the group stage would not end Gintra's European season: finishing at least third in the qualifying tournament would allow them to continue in the UEFA Women's Europa Cup.
Stand with the team: every supporter's presence at the stadium will be especially important! Buy your tickets now via this link.
Match highlights:
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