Lithuania register first victory in Malta
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
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Malta 0-2 Lithuania
Goals from Martynas Dapkus and Artūras Žulpa earned the visitors their first qualifying Group 2 victory.
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Lithuania ended a run of four successive defeats in UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying Group 2 with victory against Malta in Gozo.
Malta began on the front foot, with Terence Vella forcing Emilijus Zubas into a fine save after six minutes, but it was the visitors who looked more likely to open the scoring. Vytautas Andriuškevičius came close with a long-range free-kick before Martynas Dapkus gave Lithuania the lead, tapping in after an Andriuškevičius corner caused havoc in the penalty area.
Malta threatened an equaliser after the break through Tristan Caruana and Vella, but it was Mindaugas Neoras's side who scored a decisive second when Artūras Žulpa's strike from the edge of the box beat Steve Sultana just shy of the hour.
The hosts' search for the result which will mean they become the first Maltese national team at any level to surpass five qualifying points continues on 15 November against Sweden.
