First League: Prize Winners and Celebrities

2025-03-12 00:06 © pexels

"TOPsport Pirma lyga” season kick-off not only gifted flowers to women but also brought a festive atmosphere to all football fans. Supporters witnessed significantly renewed teams starting an intriguing journey into 2025.

The First. It took only 132 seconds to open the scoring for the "TOPsport Pirma lyga” season. The first successful strike in the league was made by Ukrainian Jevgeniy Mohilas. The forward of the Kėdainiai "Nevėžis” team sent the ball into the "Hegelmann” B net with a follow-up shot from close range. The Kaunas players did not falter and restored parity – 1:1. In the 77th minute, team newcomer Justas Paštukas scored. If "Nevėžis” scored the first goal of the league season, then "Šiauliai B” had a sadder entry. Justas Žukovskis from the Sun City youth team received the first red card. The first ejection occurred during the Šiauliai players' confrontation with Klaipėda’s "Neptūnas” in the 60th minute. However, the sanctions for two yellow cards received by J. Žukovskis did not have a significant impact on the visitors, as by that time they had already conceded three goals into their net.

The final advantage for the Klaipėda team was ensured by Dariaus Zubausko and Taraso Hevlycho’s doubles. The latter, a Ukrainian, converted the first penalty of the season in the 12th minute. Unintentionally, Pijus Nainys also registered his name among the firsts. The defender of "Kauno Žalgiris” B became the author of the first own goal. In the match in Mažeikiai, in the 11th minute, P. Nainys attempted to intercept an acute pass into the Kaunas team's penalty area but effectively defeated his team’s goalkeeper. This episode was enough for "Atmosfera” players to maintain their advantage and grab their first points – 1:0.

The Medalists. "Currently, in the First League, there are 2–3 teams that could definitely even play in the A League this year. And we are more focused on developing young players in the First League. Even though we do not intend to bow down to more experienced opponents,” said Dainius Greviškis, the coach of Vilnius "Žalgiris” B. In the first round, the Vilnius team faced last season's vice-champion "Be1” from Jonava. After significantly renewing their squad in winter, the Jonava team took the lead at home after a strike in the 73rd minute by Scotland U19 national team forward Cameron Cooper, but Gustas Mikelaitis equalized the score in the 82nd minute – 1:1. By the way, on that Saturday, "Be1” and Vilnius "Žalgiris” faced each other for the second time, only this time not in men’s but in youth competitions – in the Elite U18 league.

In a tough battle in Kaunas, the Vilnius team triumphed 2:1, and three players from "Be1 NFA” managed to run onto the pitch in the second match of the same day. The other last year's medalist, Plungės "Babrungas,” who secured historic bronze last year, is also not planning to slow down this year. The Plungės team proved this in their match against their neighbor from Kretinga – "Minija.” In this hot Žemaitija derby, both teams had opportunities, but the fate of the match was decided by a Ghanaian legionnaire, Emmanuel Agyemang. Only in the 66th minute, after coming on as a substitute, the midfielder needed just five minutes to score the only goal of the match – 1:0.

The Celebrities. If we tried to count the famous names, this year the First League has a rare abundance of them. Among the league coaches, undoubtedly the most famous personality is Marius Stankevičius, the head of the Vilnius district "TransINVEST” club. The only Lithuanian in history to have played in three of the four strongest European football leagues, a winner of the Spanish and Italian cups, remained at the helm of the Vilnius district team even after they dropped out of the A League. The first match for "TransINVEST” was not easy, although they dominated from the first to the last minute. Their opponent, "Jonava,” who had risen from the Second League, rationally gave up the initiative to the favorites and tried to counter-attack. The plan worked until the 80th minute when former "Jonava” player Jegoras Gluščakas almost ripped the net after a beautifully taken free kick – 1:0.

Among the league players, no one compares to Arvydas Novikovas, the veteran of the Baltic Football Academy, in terms of titles. A midfielder who has been named the best football player in Lithuania three times and a champion of Poland as well as a winner of the Scottish Cup once again proved his high skill. In the first round match in Panevėžys, BFA won 2:0 against the local "Ekranas,” and A. Novikovas scored unopposed from the edge of the penalty area in the 78th minute. This year, the name of the four-time Lithuanian champion Egidijus Vaitkūnas was also present among familiar names in the visibly strengthened Tauragės "Tauro” camp. He played all 90 minutes in the match against "Panevėžio” substitutes while his teammates scored four goals into the visitors’ net before the break. The final victory of 6:0 propelled Tauragės team to the very top of the tournament table.