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Alytus "Dainava" achieved an impressive second victory in the "SMScredit.lt A lyga" championship. The Dzūkija footballers, who were penultimate in the league table, crushed Šiauliai "Šiauliai" 5-1 (2:0) in an away match.
"Dainava", who traveled to Šiauliai without any foreign players, launched a dangerous attack in the first minute of the game. Danielius Gunevičius broke through on the left side and made a sharp pass into the penalty area, but Lukas Baranauskas did not reach the ball.
The hosts' attacks from the midfield did not pose a threat, while the Alytus players, who retreated into defense, tried to exploit every opportunity to quickly counterattack. In the 9th minute, "Dainava" could not break through to take the lead, L.Baranauskas can only explain why after receiving an ideal pass from L.Gunevičius, following a rough mistake by Filipo Zderičius. However, the lone striker in front of the goal failed to hit the target.
In the 15th minute, "Šiauliai" created their first dangerous chance towards the visitors' goal. George Alaverdašvilis found Niko Tokičius with a long pass in the penalty area, but his shot from the right side was saved by Donatas Mikučionis.
Nerijus Bartkevičius grabbed his head in the middle of the half when, after a penalty kick from a team mate, he failed to technically execute the shot and directed the ball over the goal. In the 31st minute, the spectators in the stadium also had to cover their heads as Arminas Vaskela, with a very strong shot, shook the crossbar.
Šarūnas Jurevičius demonstrated excellent reflexes in the 39th minute, deflecting a very dangerous long-range shot from D.Gunevičius after another "Dainava" counterattack. However, the "Šiauliai" goalkeeper was forced to pull the ball out of the net twice at the end of the first half.
In the 42nd minute of the match, Mantas Fridrikas brought down L.Baranauskas on the edge of the penalty area, giving an opportunity to set-piece specialist Deividas Padaigis. He did not miss his chance, making a precise shot into the far bottom corner of the goal.
Just two minutes later, the often misguided Šiauliai defense was punished for the second time. Once again, D.Gunevičius broke free in front of the goal and doubled "Dainava's" lead with a precise shot past the oncoming Š.Jurevičius.
At the start of the second half, the third goal fell into "Šiauliai's" net. Modestas Atmanavičius demonstrated excellent sprinting abilities, breaking through on the right side. After his pass, Artūras Juchno, left unmarked by the defenders, calmly controlled the ball and finished the attack with a beautiful shot into the far corner of the goal.
Having built a solid lead, the visitors continued to launch dangerous attacks. In the 61st minute, Nerijus Kavaliauskas had a great opportunity to score the fourth goal after a corner kick, but Š.Jurevičius once again saved Šiauliai with a great leap, directing the ball to the corner.
Five minutes later, "Šiauliai" managed to reduce the gap. A.Vaskela deceived the defender, technically controlled the ball after a pass from the right side, and sent it into the goal with a strong shot.
After conceding a goal, "Dainava" withdrew and successfully defended against Šiauliai's attacks for the rest of the game. In the final moments of the match, they managed to score two more goals. In the 89th minute, L.Baranauskas made his mark, tearing through the home team's defense with an individual run, and during the referee's added time, M.Atmanavičius sealed the match by converting a penalty kick.
Šiaulių "Šiauliai" 1 - 5 Alytus "Dainava"
"Šiauliai": Š.Jurevičius, F.Zderičius, M.Fridrikas, T.Snapkauskas, D.Lunskis, V.Gašpuitis (46 min. T.Birškys), T. Eliošius, A.Vaskela, M.Rašo (56 min. R.Lėščius), N.Tokičius, G.Alaverdašvilis (64 min. D.Medžiaušis).
"Dainava": D.Mikučionis, D.Padaigis, V.Rutkauskas, A.Mikaitis, N.Kavaliauskas, D.Gunevičius (74 min. J.Morozas), A.Juchno (91 min. K.Balčiūnas), D.Cibulskas, N.Bartkevičius, M.Atmanavičius, L.Baranauskas.
Goals: A.Vaskela (66); D.Padaigis (42), D.Gunevičius (44), A.Juchno (51), L.Baranauskas (89), M.Armanavičius (90+1 from penalty kick).
Yellow card: D.Gunevičius (73).
Match officials: E.Gaigalas, T.Lavrinavičius, V.Petkus.
"SMScredit.lt A lyga" tournament table (position, team, matches, wins, draws, losses, goals, points):
1. Vilnius MFD "Žalgiris" 14 11 2 1 40:5 35
2. Klaipėda "Atlantas" 14 10 2 2 26:11 32
3. Panevėžys "Ekranas" 14 9 2 3 29:17 29
4. Marijampolė "Sūduva" 15 7 4 4 27:17 25
5. Šiauliai "Šiauliai" 14 4 5 5 18:23 17
6. Pakruojo "Kruoja" 14 4 4 6 15:21 16
7. Gargždai "Banga" 14 4 2 8 20:26 14
8. Alytus "Dainava" 15 2 2 11 16:40 8
9. Tauragė "Tauras" 14 1 1 12 9:40 4
Top scorers of the championship: K.Bilinskis ("Žalgiris") - 12 goals, E.Razulis ("Atlantas") - 11, N.Valskis ("Sūduva") - 10, G.Alaverdašvili ("Šiauliai") - 9, A.Rimkevičius ("Ekranas"), A.Staponka ("Banga") and M.Kuklys ("Žalgiris") - 6 each.
