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Group Five Roundup Lithuania tops group with stunning win over ScotlandPosted: Wednesday April 02, 2003 5:04 PMUpdated: Wednesday April 02, 2003 6:02 PM KAUNAS, Lithuania (AP) -- Tomas Razanauskas converted a penalty in the 75th minute Wednesday as Lithuania shocked Scotland 1-0 in a European Championship qualifier, just four days after holding powerhouse Germany to a 1-1 draw. The victory moved Lithuania to the top of Group 5 with seven points, the same as Scotland and Germany. But the Baltic nation remains third in the group on goal difference. Razanauskas netted the penalty kick after Darius Maciulevicius was tripped in the Scottish penalty area. Trying to save the game, Scotland launched several massive attacks, but failed to break through the solid Lithuanian defense. Fifteen minutes before the goal, substitute Paul Devlin set up Don Hutchison in the box, but with only the goalkeeper to beat from close range, Gintaras Stauce stopped his low drive. It was by far the best chance in a match that saw precious few scoring opportunities in the first half. Lee Wilkie had the first shot of the match with 15 minutes gone and was on target, but Stauce was right behind it. Two minutes later, Paul Gallacher stopped a low shot by Igoris Morinas from outside the box. Gallacher, who replaced injured Robert Douglas in goal for Scotland, made his first serious save in the 35th, stopping Edgaras Jankauskas' close-range effort on his goal line after a corner from Razanauskas. The Scots' second change from Saturday, when they went atop of the group thanks to a 2-1 win over Iceland, was in midfield. Barry Ferguson, the Glasgow Rangers captain, didn't make the trip because of a groin injury and Jackie McNamara from crosstown rival Celtic replaced him. About 8,000 watched the match in rainy weather. Lineups: Lithuania: Gintaras Stauce, Deividas Semberas, Ignas Dedura, Dainius Gleveckas, Igoris Morinas, Tomas Razanauskas, Saulius Mikalajunas (Orestas Buitkus 89th), Nerijus Barasa, Edgaras Jankauskas (Igoris Fomenka 57th), Vadimas Petrenka (Darius Maciulevicius 71st), Tomas Zvigzdauskas. Scotland: Paul Gallacher, Graham Alexander, Christian Dailly, Steven Presley, Jackie McNamara (Andrew Gray 78th), Paul Lambert, Gary Naysmith, Kenny Miller, Stephen Crawford (Paul Devlin 54th), Don Hutchinson (Colin Cameron 78th), Lee Wilkie. |
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