Greece maintain strong start

Greece won their second 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier 1-0 against Lithuania in Marijampole to sit top of Group 9 with a maximum six points.

Late winner
Socratis Papastathopoulos's solitary strike was enough for the visitors who had beaten FYR Macedonia in their first fixture. In a tight opening period, Vassilis Koutsianikoulis had the best two chances for Greece while, at the other end, Georgios Siakkas nearly put through his own net following a 15th-minute corner. In a more open second half, Lithuania's Jevgenij Moroz fired over the bar from ten metres out in the 75th minute and the hosts paid for that miss less than sixty seconds later. Lithuania goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas parried a cross into the path of Papastathopoulos who slotted in from point-blank range. Lithuania coach Valdas Ivanauskas was content with his side's performance in their opening qualifier but rued their missed chances. "Unfortunately, the unwritten law of football was confirmed: If you do not score, the other team does," he said. "It cost us."