Lithuania lifted by Faroese success

Lithuania picked up three morale-boosting UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying points as a goal eight minutes into each half gave them a narrow Group B victory against a battling Faroe Islands in Kaunas.

Early breakthrough
Edgaras Jankauskas broke the deadlock from close range in the first half and Tomas Danilevicius doubled the Lithuanian advantage with another tap-in after the interval before Rógvi Jacobsen struck a consolation deep into added time. The win takes the home team up into fifth place in the section with ten points from nine games ahead of their trip to France on 17 October while the Faroese next entertain the same opposition four days earlier.

Chances aplenty
The hosts started at a fast pace and took an early lead as Saulius Mikoliunas' inviting free-kick was parried by goalkeeper Jákup Mikkelsen for Jankauskas to tap in from two metres. The same player might have doubled Lithuania's advantage ten minutes later but could only flash a close-range header wide. Súni Olsen almost equalised just before the half-hour with a prodded effort from the edge of the penalty area although Danilevicius nearly added a second for the home side seven minutes before the break, his snap-shot flashing over with the goal at his mercy.

Point-blank save
Lithuania were almost made to pay for their missed chances two minutes after the interval when keeper Žydrunas Karčemarskas produced a fantastic point-blank save. Danilevicius then finally eased the home side's fears moments later, tapping in from close range after good work from Audrius Ksanavicius down the left-hand side left him with an open goal. Arunas Klimavičius and Danilevicius attempted to extend the lead with long-range efforts that sailed harmlessly over the bar and the away side started to force the play as the game entered the final 15 minutes, Jacobsen getting a last-minute consolation with a well-taken chip.