Lithuanian goalkeeper Edvinas Gertmonas made his Swiss Super League debut on Saturday as Servette fell to a 1-2 away defeat against FC Zurich. Elsewhere, Lithuanian internationals were also in action in the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia.
The 30-year-old Gertmonas, who missed Servette’s opening-round defeat to Basel due to a pre-season injury, returned to make his first competitive appearance for the club.
His debut, however, got off to a difficult start. In the 35th minute, Valon Berisha delivered a dangerous free-kick from a tight angle. With the sun shining directly into his eyes, Gertmonas mistimed his attempted punch and failed to make contact with the ball, allowing it to fly into the far corner.
Zurich doubled their advantage early in the second half through Mohamed Bangoura. Servette pulled one goal back deep into stoppage time, but it proved too late to avoid a second consecutive league defeat. Gertmonas finished the match with two saves from four shots on target.
Servette will look to bounce back next Saturday when they host Grasshoppers.
In the Czech top flight, Lithuanian winger Artūr Dolžnikov made his first start for Slovacko, who played out a 1-1 home draw against Artis Brno.
The 26-year-old joined Slovacko from fellow Czech side Sigma Olomouc just days before the start of the season. After coming off the bench in last week’s 1-5 defeat to Slavia Prague, Dolžnikov was handed his first start and played until the 70th minute with the score still goalless.
Both goals came late in the match as the teams shared the points. Slovacko’s next fixture is away to Jablonec next Sunday.
In Hungary, Vilius Armalas came off the bench at half-time as MTK Budapest earned a dramatic 3-3 draw away to Honved in the second round of the league season.
MTK fell behind 2-3 in the 87th minute, but Istvan Bognar salvaged a point with an equaliser in the sixth minute of stoppage time. It followed MTK’s opening-round victory, in which Armalas also appeared as a substitute.
MTK return to action on Friday against Puskas Akademia.
In Slovenia, NK Celje, featuring Lithuanian internationals Pijus Širvys, Artemijus Tutyškinas and Armandas Kučys, were held to a 1-1 draw by Maribor between their UEFA Champions League qualifying fixtures.
Kučys was not included in the matchday squad, while Tutyškinas started in defence. Širvys, facing his former club, came on at the start of the second half.
Maribor took the lead in the third minute before Celje equalised in the 79th. The hosts thought they had found a late winner moments later, but the goal was ruled out following a VAR review.
Celje have now opened the Slovenian league season with two consecutive draws. Their attention now turns back to Europe, with an away trip to Ararat-Armenia in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
