Gintra broke the Romanian champions and advanced to the Champions League qualifying final.

2025-08-27 14:16 © lff.lt

On Wednesday, the UEFA Women's Champions League second qualifying round tournament of Group 5 kicked off in Šiauliai. The home team, Šiaulių "Gintra," faced off against the Romanian champions FCV "Farul" from Constanta in the qualifying semifinals.

Supported by a large crowd at the central stadium of Šiauliai, the Lithuanian champions battled fiercely and triumphed with a score of 2:1 (0:0), overcoming the Romanians and advancing to the final of the qualifying tournament.

In the first semifinal match of this qualifying tournament, the Ukrainian team Poltava FC "Vorskla" secured a convincing victory with a score of 5:0 against the champions of Georgia. The latter will face off against the Šiauliai team in the qualifying final for the sole ticket to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Champions League.

This victory guaranteed "Gintra" that their journey in Europe would continue this year. In the event of a victory in the qualifying final, the women from Gintra would proceed to the third qualifying round of the UEFA Women's Champions League, while a loss would lead them to the second round of the first-ever UEFA Women's Europa League qualifying.

The third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League will take place on September 11 and 18, while the second round of the UEFA Europa League will be played on October 7 or 8 and 15 or 16. The qualifying rounds will be held in a home and away match format.

Starting lineup:  G. Lukjančukė, R. Beal, A. Mikutaitė, T. Romanovskaja, S. Amorim, I. Kuku, L. Ribeiro, T. Brown (27’ min. B. David, 80’ min. C. Caliz), L. Spenazzatto, M. Bowers, B. Taylor.

Goals:

"Gintra": L. Spenazzato (55’ min.), L. Ribeiro (83’ min.) - 1 each.

"Farul Constanta": I. Stancu (63’ min.) - 1.

In the opening minutes of the match, there was a bit of probing on the field. The teams assessed each other's positions and did not take too many risks. In the 10th minute, Lidiane Ribeiro tested the vigilance of the opposing goalkeeper.

In the 13th minute, the first danger arose near the home team's goal, but the shot from the opponent's forward Estelle Gnaly was weak, and Greta Lukjančukė confidently dealt with the situation. A few moments later, the Romanian champions created another opportunity with a cross, but fortunately, Nikoleta Boycheva did not reach the ball.

In the 21st minute, surrounded by defenders, Madison Bowers had a chance to break free one-on-one with the goalkeeper, but at the last moment, the American failed to control the ball, and the situation faded away.

By the 27th minute, "Gintra" head coach Steve Beeks had to make an enforced substitution. Tamara Brown, who was injured and could no longer continue, was replaced by Bunmi David.

In the 39th minute, G. Lukjančukė saved a dangerous free kick from about 25 meters. A few minutes later, the gintrietės responded, but Brianna Taylor failed to successfully control the ball. After the first 45 minutes, the scoreboard showed zeros.

The second half began fervently, and the teams exchanged goals early on. In the 55th minute, the opponent's defender in the penalty area took down the gintrietė Laura Spenazzatto, who scored with a strong and accurate shot, putting the Lithuanian champions ahead - 1:0, but just eight minutes later, the Romanians leveled the score with Ioana Stancu finding the net in the 63rd minute.

After the exchange of goals, both teams slowed down the pace of play a bit, but hard-fought action on the field did not cease. The most experienced gintrietė G. Lukjančukė continued to play confidently, preventing the opponents from capitalizing on their half-chances.

In the 83rd minute, a burst of emotions erupted in the stadium when, following a counterattack from the gintrietės, the selfless play of B. Taylor allowed her to recover the ball, and L. Spenazzato took a shot, which was redirected into the net by Lidiane Ribeiro, putting the yellow and black team back in front - 2:1.

In the remaining time, the Romanians could not equalize, and the Lithuanian champions, having confidently closed out the match, celebrated a beautiful victory.