Lithuania head coach Edgaras Jankauskas admitted Estonia deserved their Baltic Cup triumph after his side lost 1-0 in the final in Tallinn.
A late goal decided an ill-tempered contest, with Lithuania finishing runners-up after conceding in the closing stages. Jankauskas said the match was played in a charged atmosphere and felt his team fell well short of their usual level.
“We have to admit the better team won today,” Jankauskas said. “We weren’t as physical as we were three days ago. Maybe we didn’t recover in time, but the performance wasn’t good. Perhaps we also couldn’t handle the expectations and tension psychologically, because it looked like we had problems even with simple technical actions.
“We made too many mistakes in basic situations where players at this level shouldn’t make them. We played significantly below our standards. As I said, the better team won.”
Lithuania had prepared for a demanding test against what Jankauskas described as a quick, physical and resilient Estonia side, but he felt his players lost too many individual duels.
He was also surprised by Estonia’s composure around Lithuania’s penalty area. “That they would be so good on the ball near our box really surprised me,” he said. “The way we allowed the goal was a set of obvious mistakes. It’s not about tactics or psychology there. Either they were very good, or we were very bad.”
As in the earlier match against Latvia, Lithuania dipped after the break, with Jankauskas pointing to the time of year as a possible factor.
“The summer period isn’t very favourable for us,” he said. “When players aren’t in their regular match rhythm, it affects their decisions and speed. But everyone prepared seriously and lived for this tournament. Maybe there was a psychological barrier too – sometimes you want to win too much, you burn with desire, and then you tighten up. It affects your physical condition and technique and the mistakes start.”
The final produced 13 yellow cards, and Jankauskas said Estonia’s approach disrupted Lithuania’s concentration, including early attention on midfielder Gvidas Gineitis. “From the first minutes we saw the provocations and the dirty play – they irritated Gvidas from the start,” he said. “We knew it could happen, but they dragged us into it: the rough stuff and the pushing. Unfortunately, we got involved. Maybe that took some of our focus away – today we didn’t stand up to those things.”
Source: https://www.lff.lt/e-jankauskas-reikia-pripazinti-jog-laimejo-geresne-komanda/
