Lithuanian international goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmonas made his first official appearance of the season on Thursday evening, helping Universitatea Cluj secure a 0–0 draw away to Ararat-Armenia in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round.
The 29-year-old, who was Cluj’s first-choice keeper last season, began the new Romanian league campaign on the bench, with 20-year-old Romanian prospect Ștefan Lefter starting the opening two matches. But in a significant change, Cluj trusted Gertmonas between the posts for their first European match in 20 years—and he delivered.
Gertmonas saved all three shots on target to keep a clean sheet, giving Cluj a solid platform heading into next week’s return leg at home, where they’ll be slight favorites to advance.
Before that, Cluj faces a league match on Monday. If they progress in Europe on Thursday, their next challenge will be against the winner of the tie between Aktobe (Kazakhstan) and Sparta Prague (Czech Republic). In a surprise result, Aktobe edged the first leg 2–1 at home.
