First league round: defender effectiveness and bonus points for national teams

2024-06-12 12:00 © lff.lt

While football fans count down the days until the start of the European Championship in Germany, "TOPsport Pirma lyga" continues its battles. Five out of 8 matches have been played in the 13th round, with the remaining games postponed due to the abundant deployment of league talents in the Lithuanian youth (U19 and U21) national teams in the Baltic Cup competitions.

Rhythm. The fifth victory drastically changed the mood in the Mažeikiai "Atmosfera" camp. After a long time at the bottom of the table, Mažeikiai managed to defeat "Garliava" 3:2 in the 13th round. The underdogs arrived in Mažeikiai determined to escape the bottom of the table and took the lead 1:0 in the 6th minute. After the hosts equalized, Lukas Čepkauskas with a powerful shot once again put the Garliava team ahead 2:1. However, towards the end of the second half, "Garliava" fell apart: first a penalty kick against them, followed by a red card gift to the hosts, who gladly took advantage of it - 3:2. "Atmosfera" is now fifth on the table, and in terms of lost points - even fourth.

No Slowing Down. Plungė's "Babrungas" is putting pressure on Mažeikiai's neighbors. Plungė bounced back strongly onto the path of victories after two consecutive losses. "Babrungas" mercilessly defeated Kauno rajono "Hegelmann" B team 4:0. Especially beautiful was the third goal of the visitors, when their Portuguese player Aires Sousa, after receiving a pass in the air, redirected it into the goal with one touch from a sharp angle. Both teams played without some of their key players who participated in the Baltic Cup youth tournament. With 20 points, "Babrungas" is now closest to the top three - Vilniaus "Riteriai", Klaipėdos "Neptūnas" and Jonavos "Be1" who didn't play in the 13th round.

Phenomenon. "We feel obliged to the fans, so we have to fight for such victories," emphasized Darius Gvildys.

Tauragė's "Tauro" team coach couldn't imagine a better scenario than what unfolded in the 13th round. Tauragians defeated "Šiauliai" reserves 5:0, repeating their biggest win of the season. The hosts took the lead just 4 minutes into the game, with Nedas Totilas scoring after a corner kick. Soon after, the same player left the opponents in awe, forcing a mistake to stop his dangerous run. The remaining 70 minutes of the game were almost entirely one-sided, with "Tauro" Egidijus Dusevičius scoring his 5th goal of the season. This 23-year-old player is the league's top-scoring defender and is seriously competing with the best strikers in the competition.

Mastery. Following in the footsteps of "Tauro" in 7th place is Kretinga's "Minija", which achieved its second victory in a row after 8 draw matches. In the match in Gargždai, "Bangos" struggled to stop Pierre Okende. This 21-year-old forward from the Democratic Republic of Congo previously played for A league's Vilnius "Riteriai". In the match against "Banga" B team, P. Okende converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute and soon demonstrated his individual skill by fooling two opponents and slotting the ball between the legs of the Gargždai goalkeeper - 2:0. "Minija" surpassed "Taura" with 17 points and overtook the Vilnius BFA which didn't play.

Downward. Having changed their coach in the middle of the first round, Panevėžys' "Ekranas" momentarily rose to 8th place before dropping back to 12th place after the 13th round. Davido Muslera's Spanish players lost 1:3 in the city derby against "Panevėžys" youth team. The latter opened the scoring early in the second half, but Japanese player Ryoki Imaizumi equalized in the 82nd minute. It seemed that "Ekranas" would manage to secure a draw, but Matas Pušnys' long-range shot put "Panevėžys" B team ahead again, and in added time, Rokas Kulbis sealed the win.

Information from 1lyga.lt;