Failing to overcome the Ukrainian barrier, 'Gintra' continues its battles in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.

2025-08-30 15:31

The decisive matches of the second qualifying round of group 5 of the UEFA Women's Champions League took place on Saturday at the central stadium of the city of Šiauliai. Having overcome the Romanian barrier in the semifinals, Šiaulių "Gintra" faced the Ukrainian champions Poltavas FC "Vorskla" in the qualifying final.

The Lithuanian champions had to acknowledge the superiority of the Ukrainian footballers, losing 0:2 (0:1) in the qualifying final, in which two penalties were converted. The Ukrainians will continue their campaign in the UEFA Champions League.

The journey for the "Gintra" club in Europe will continue this year. The Lithuanian champions will compete for the first time in the second qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Europa League on October 7 or 8 and 15 or 16. The qualifying rounds will take place in a home and away format.

There was also a battle for third place in the qualifying tournament, which gives teams the opportunity to continue competing in the second-tier UEFA Women's Europa League qualifying round. In the encounter between the Georgian champions WFC "Lachkhuti" and the Romanian champions FCV "Farul Constanta," the latter secured a convincing victory 4:1.

Starting lineup:  G. Lukjančukė, R. Beal, A. Mikutaitė, T. Romanovskaja, S. Amorim, I. Kuku (87' min. E. Šupelytė), L. Ribeiro (73' min. B. David), L. Kubiliūtė (64' min. C. Caliz), L. Spenazzatto, M. Bowers, B. Taylor.

Goals:

"Vorskla": V. Radionova (23' min. from 11 m penalty), Y. Kalinina (58' min. from 11 m penalty) – 1 each.

The qualifying final began with some probing from both teams. The Ukrainians sought to control the ball and dominate the field, but the players from Šiauliai did not allow any home advantage. After a few minutes, the Gintra players took the initiative for a while. Following a pass from Lauro Spenazzatto, American Madison Bowers had a chance to compete with the opponent's defender, but the home team managed to avoid serious danger.

In the 15th minute of the match, L. Spenazzatto unleashed a powerful shot towards the opponent's goal, but the ball flew over the crossbar. A few moments later, the Ukrainians responded, and in another attack, captain Algimantė Mikutaitė tried her luck from a distance.

An unfortunate episode in the home team's penalty area, when Gintra defender Idowu Kuku played carelessly, resulted in an 11-meter penalty that Viktoriia Radionova converted – 1:0.

After conceding a goal, Steve Beeks' team did not lose their composure and did not allow the opponents to dominate. The yellow and black team regained control and had several set-piece opportunities, but they couldn't convert them into goals and had to go to the locker room trailing by a narrow margin.

After the break, in the 54th minute, L. Spenazzatto's free kick rattled the goal frame of the opponents. However, just moments later, another penalty was awarded against the Gintra team, which was converted by "Vorskla" captain Yana Kalinina – 2:0.

In the 78th minute, the opponent's defender Maryna Shaynyuk received a second yellow card and was sent off the field, leaving the Ukrainians in a minority and giving the Gintra team a chance to exploit their numerical advantage.

Despite all efforts to score a goal that would bring back tension to the maximum, the Gintra players were unable to break through the opponent’s defense and had to admit defeat.

Match summary: