Last season’s surprise Lithuanian Cup winners, Gargždai’s Banga, had a night to forget as they were dismantled 0–5 (0–1) by Norwegian giants Rosenborg in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round.
The match, played on Thursday evening at the iconic Lerkendal Stadium in Trondheim, highlighted the gulf in class between the two sides. Cheered on by nearly 21,500 fans, Rosenborg dominated from start to finish — and Banga’s uphill battle became steeper in the second half after being reduced to ten men.
The early stages saw Rosenborg threatening from the outset. In just the 4th minute, the hosts created a clear opportunity but failed to convert. Banga answered with a corner in the 9th, but it didn’t lead to much. Defender Hugo Figueredo was a standout early on, clearing the ball off the goal line twice in the 18th minute to keep the visitors in the game.
However, the pressure paid off in the 22nd minute when striker Dino Islamović opened the scoring with a powerful header from a corner — 1:0 to Rosenborg.
Banga managed to hold the Norwegians off for the rest of the half, but disaster struck early in the second. Captain Matas Ramanauskas was booked for time-wasting in the 49th minute and then sent off seconds later for a rough challenge — two yellows in under a minute. That moment proved to be the turning point.
Down to ten men, Banga couldn’t contain Rosenborg’s waves of attacks. Islamović struck again in the 60th minute to make it 2:0. Just four minutes later, Simen Nordli added a third. Islamović completed his hat-trick in the 82nd minute with another clinical finish, and Mikkel Konradsen Ceide capped the rout in the 87th — final score: 5:0.
The second leg will be played in Gargždai exactly one week later at 7 PM local time. Banga will need nothing short of a miracle to overturn the five-goal deficit.
Rosenborg vs FK Banga Gargždai – 5:0 (1:0)
Goals: Islamovic 22’ 61’ 82’, Nordli 64’, Ceide 86’
ROS: Tangvik, Witry (Reitan 60’), Racic, Nemcik (M.Ceide 46’), Pereira (Jenssen 71’), Vaananen (Nordli 46’), Selnaes, Zeidan, Reitan-Sunde (Holm 60’), Islamovic, E.Ceide
BAN: Bertašius, Antužis, Simao, Malžinskas, Figueredo, Norvilas (Laton 46’), Srebalius, Magdušauskas (Toleikis 85’), Ramanauskas, Seedorf (Victory 69’), Emsis (Venckus 53’)
