First league tour: welcoming summer and crisis in Garliava

2024-06-03 05:30 © EF

The heat of June blew into the "TOPsport First League" championships with faster rhythms. In the first days of summer, teams entered the field not to defend, but to attack - scoring 25 goals in five matches. After the 12th round, Kaunas district "Garliava" fell to the bottom of the tournament table, where it had not been since its debut in the league in 2022.

Last. "We had no right to lose to the league's underdogs, but we paid dearly for mistakes. Now we are where we certainly did not plan to be," said Gintautas Vaičiūnas.

The team coached by Gintautas Vaičiūnas did not live up to the league's underdogs Gargždų "Banga" B at home in the 12th round, losing 1-2 and slipping to last place. Garliava, who broke into the top 8 last year, has only managed to secure one victory this year - and that was in the same month of March. After that, they suffered more than two months of losses and draws before finally hitting the bottom of the table. It is especially difficult for Garliava to score. With just 6 goals scored, they have earned only 8 points. "Banga" B climbed to second to last position with 9 points.

Ascending alongside the bottom duo with 11 points are the “Šiauliai” reserves. On Monday, the Šiauliai youth team scored four goals against the “Kaunas Žalgiris” youth team at home, but even such an impressive offensive performance was not enough for a victory. On the contrary, “Šiauliai” B were trailing 2-4, but scored two precise strikes in a minute - 4-4. Interestingly, the youth team from Žalgiris had not yet been separated from their opponents peacefully this year.

Trajectory. The complete opposite of Žalgiris is Kretinga's "Minija". The team, which finishes most of the matches with a draw, finally broke this streak. Kretinga almost extended the marathon that had been going on since March 30 against Kaunas district "Hegelmann" B. The hosts controlled the situation after the first half - 2:0, but in the second half the situation turned upside down - 2:2. The Samogitians were saved by the Brazilian Narkas Junior, who scored his first goal of the season in the 93rd minute, securing a 3-2 victory.

"One victory - and our two months without wins turned into two months without losses. The feeling is very good," admitted "Minija" coach Thiago Bomfimas.

Lately, Mažeikiai's "Atmosfera" has also caught an upward trajectory. Mažeikiai defeated "Ekranas" with a double from Beka Pilpani (39 and 83 min.) with a score of 3-2 in an away match. This was already the 4th victory in 5 past rounds for the team from Mažeikiai. Thanks to this surge, the Samogitians jumped to 7th position from the bottom of the league. Also, "Atmosfera" still has a match in reserve, so despite losing points, they are ahead of three higher-ranked clubs.

Unusual hat-trick. Plungė's "Babrungas" and Vilnius BFA, who are just one point ahead of Mažeikiai, finished the round with three goals conceded. However, the match scenarios unfolded differently for them. "Babrungas" at home lost 1-3 to Vilnius "Riteriai". The league leaders from the capital surged ahead on the 5th minute when Andrius Kaulinis finished their attack precisely. Later, he scored again an hour later. The Lithuanian U19 national team defender initially directed the ball into his own net, but then rectified the error by scoring in the 45th and 65th minutes, completing his own hat-trick and ensuring Vilnius' victory.

In the match against the reserves of "Panevėžys", BFA also had their leader - Dominykas Kodžius. This forward solidified the team's lead in the 11th minute to make it 2-0, but after the Panevėžys team quickly equalized to make it 2-2, Kodžius once again put his team ahead 3-2 in the 79th minute. However, the visitors organized a crucial push which led to a goal by Aidas Šidlauskas in the 7th minute of added time, ending the game in a 3-3 draw. BFA remained in 5th place, while "Babrungas" suffered defeat.

Comeback. Climbing higher than BFA is Kėdainiai's "Nevėžis". The team secured a typical home victory of the season with a 1-0 win against Tauragė's "Taura". This year, the Kėdainiai team is known for its extremely rational play - only two teams in the league have scored fewer goals than them. Despite this, the team, which has gathered only 12 goals in as many games, has already collected 18 points and risen to the 4th position. The clash with "Nevėžis" marked a return to Kėdainiai for "Taura" coach Darius Gvildžius. He led "Nevėžis" to bronze medals in the last two seasons, but this year the position was taken over by Ukrainian Oleg Lutkov.

Currently, Jonava's "Be1" and Klaipėda's "Neptūnas" have more chances to climb onto the podium than BFA. These two clubs fought against each other in the 12th round. A hard-fought match in Jonava ended in a draw 1-1, with the hosts' salvation coming from Denisas Ževžikovas' long shot in the 32nd minute. The Klaipėda team responded in the 76th minute with an equalizer from Darius Zubauskas. Thanks to this result, "Neptūnas" maintained 2nd place with 25 points, just 4 behind the leaders "Riteriai". In the "Be1" camp - not only 23 points, but also one match in reserve.

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