Late Gineitis penalty saves Lithuania in draw with Malta

The Lithuanian national team once again leaned on the composure of Gvidas Gineitis to avoid defeat, as his stoppage-time penalty salvaged a 1:1 draw against Malta in a tense World Cup qualifying encounter.

Lithuania entered the match missing several key players from their starting lineup. Compared to the previous qualifying encounter in Malta earlier this summer, coach Edgaras Jankauskas was forced to adjust. Vykintas Slivka, who plies his trade in Japan, was sidelined with injury, while defensive cornerstone Kipras Kažukolovas suffered a long-term injury in Kazakhstan and now faces a long spell out. Their places were taken by Gratas Sirgėdas, in fine form with A Lyga leaders Kauno Žalgiris, and defender Edvinas Girdvainis, who has recently continued his career in Latvia. Other than these enforced changes, the lineup remained largely unchanged from June’s meeting.

The first half saw plenty of effort but little reward for either side. Lithuania created early chances, with Gineitis forcing a fine save just two minutes in and Gytis Paulauskas testing the keeper at the quarter-hour mark. At the other end, Malta tried their luck from distance, but the opening 45 minutes ended goalless at 0:0.

The second half, however, exploded into life. In the 49th minute, Alexander Satariano fired a powerful long-range strike just over the crossbar. He would not miss later on – in the 83rd minute, the Maltese striker tapped home a cross to put his team ahead 1:0.

The drama reached its peak in stoppage time. In the 90+1 minute, substitute Jake Azzopardi who was just five minutes in the game was shown a straight red card after a VAR review, leaving Malta with ten men. Lithuania pressed forward, and in the 90+6 minute they earned a penalty, Gineitis stepped up and coolly converted from the penalty spot to level the match at 1:1 to score his second of this campaign and his second tying goal in the latter stages, with the first one coming earlier this year against Finland in a 2:2 draw.

But there was more turbulence before the final whistle. Edgaras Utkus, already booked, received a second yellow in the 90+9 minute, leaving Lithuania with ten players as well. Remarkably, this was Utkus’s second red card in consecutive international appearances – he was also sent off early in the first half of a recent friendly against Denmark, which ended in a heavy defeat.

When the final whistle blew, the points were shared. Lithuania now has three points from four matches, while Malta remains bottom of Group G with two.

Next up is a daunting test: a home clash against the Netherlands in Kaunas on September 7. With key players sidelined and Utkus suspended, Jankauskas will need to rally his side if they hope to compete with one of Europe’s elite.

Lithuania vs Malta – 1:1 (0:0)
Goals: Gvineitis 90+6′ (Penalty kick) | Satariano 83′
LIT: Gertmonas, Upstas (Kalinauskas 69′), Girdvainis, Utkus, Tutyškinas, Vorobjovas (Jansonas 76′), Sirgedas (Golubickas 68′), Lasickas, Gineitis, Dolžnikov (Jankauskas 46′), Paulauskas
MAL: Bonello, Muscat, Shaw, Pepe, Beerman (Corbalan 46′), Paiber (Grech 64′), Satariano, J.Mbong (Jones 74′), P.Mbong (Overend 74′), Chouaref, Cardona (Azzopardi 87′)