Match № 5

The match № 5 (group stage), second tournament day

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA – LITHUANIA 1:1 (1:1)

January 17th, 2015, St. Petersburg, Peterburgsky SCC, 300 spectators

Referees: Stanislav Vasiliev, Pavel Evstafiadi, Vsevolod Zharikov

South Africa: Msibi, Seriba,Mathabela, Madisha (c), Liphoko (Domingo, 71), Leepile, Maraisane (Lourenco, 71), Modiba, Farmer, Boikanyo (Monamodi, 82), Masiya (Ngubo, 60)

Head coach: David Notoane

Lithuania: Gertmonas, Aleksandravicius (Raziunas, 64), Urbys (Malinauskas, 64), Skripkinas (Trucinskas, 74), Krasnovskis, Krusnauskas (Ganusauskas, 36), Gaspuitis, Vitukynas, Bucma (Armanavicius, 70), Janusevskij (c), Baravykas

Head coach: Arminas Narbekovas

Goals: Liphoko (9), Krusnauskas (31)

Yellow card: Madisha (34)

Best players: Siyanda Ngubo, Mykolas Krasnovskis

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After match comments

Head coach of team South Africa David Notoane:

– It was a good game. We played our style – possession of the ball, domination on the pitch. It is sad we let the ball in, but that is a good lesson for us. Football is football.

– Now it is summer in your country. Did you have any issues with acclimatization?

– We like the weather here. Before we came we thought that it is freezing here and snowy. But here you have a good sport facilities, so we even don't pay any attention to the climate. Plus, we had a warm welcome, friendly people, great football.

– What is a schedule of your national championship? Were there any problems to gather the team?

– Our Championship goes as in Europe. We are in the middle now, after a short 2 weeks break. Usually we play from July to May. Concerning the team we had some problems – that is hard to invite international players. Still, those who are here, are a good candidates for national team.

– Your team impressed us a lot. Have you trained for a long time?

– We gathered a week before the tournament. We've played with Qatar team and lost 1:3, analyzed the mistakes. Then we came here and tried artificial covering. So, no problems we have faced, we came here to win.

– You have a star on your bench. What does this sign mean?

– That is a religion symbol of the Church I belong to. I believe in God.

Head coach of team Lithuania Arminas Narbekovas:

– For the first I want to congratulate my players, because during the whole match the fortune was on our side. You have seen the number of scoring moments we and our opponents had. To my mind we were lucky. Team of RSA has a very good technique and they are fast. 1:1 is good result for us. I'm sure later it will be easier, first game is always hard. We are together for 4 days only and now we had a tough match with a strong team. I'm satisfied with the game, but not with the result.

– What impression do you have after team of RSA?

– It is the first meeting of our countries. None of the national Lithuanian teams have ever met RSA. It is a great plus for us and a priceless experience. South African team has smaller players in height, but they made many troubles for us. They bring the ball down and it was the main problem for our defenders. Team of RSA is a high-skilled team. I think all their opponents will have some problems.

– Is lineup of your team optimal?

– Many guys are already playing in professional clubs and we have many problems because of it. Clubs let them play for national team reluctantly. I even do not speak about our players abroad. Foreigners are afraid of artificial pitches and think it is injury-causing. Our leading clubs, Zhalgiris for example, didn't let their players to come. So our lineup is far from optimal.

– Popular question: how do you like playing on artificial pitch?

– Players who have come back with substitution told me that the pitch is different. But, I do not want to concentrate attention on this aspect. All the teams are in the same circumstances. Comparing to last year pitch, this one is deeper and probably a bit heavy.

– Have you asked your players to use their advantage in height?

– For sure we did. But you have seen that we have just a few chances with free kicks to use this advantage.

– How does Krusnauskas feel, who got injury?

– He couldn't continue playing. I made this change by force. It was a heavy bruise. He couldn't step on his leg at first, but now he is much better. We will wait for the medical resume.