Lithuania (4) v (8) Austria

By Tiffany Pilcher

Austria has defeated Lithuania in a furious match which saw a jubilant Austria clean up 8-4.

The Austrians took out the first half of the match unchallenged.

Siaband Botoev scored a textbook goal straight down the line for Austria in the early stages of the match, and the other Austrian players showed what they were made of with five more goals.

The Austrian team was incredibly organised, with much of the play in their control.

Although not able to score in the first half, Lithuania’s Vytautas Skirmantis displayed stylish dribbling skills and managed to elude the Austrians on many occasions.

At the half way mark, Austria had a very comfortable lead of 6-0.

The Lithuanians recognised they had a lot of work to do in the second half and came back on the field with more energy, launching an exciting attack. This certainly paid off for them with Rolandas Tvirbutas scoring two excellent goals for Lithuania in the opening minutes.

Austria refused to let the game get away from them however, with Yildirim Orhan handling the ball with exceptional skill.

The game became physical in the dying minutes, with Johann Kovacs being thrown upside down into the barriers and Tvirbutas and Serkan Yavus engaging in a fierce battle in a tight corner.

Lithuania managed to score yet another goal in a last-ditch effort to stay in the game, but Austria had already done the ground work to ensure a comfortable victory.

Photos: Photoworx