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Pakruojo "Kruoja" clinched their third victory in the "SMScredit.lt A League" championship in the fifth round. Despite missing almost all of their legionnaires, the team from Pakruojis defeated Gargždai's "Banga" 4-0 at the Panevėžys Football Academy stadium.
In the early minutes, the initiative belonged to the formal hosts, whose attacks were led by Lukas Kochanauskas. The forward could have scored his first goal of the season in the 2nd minute, but he sent the ball straight into the hands of Vitalij Myrnyj.
In the 9th minute, L. Kochanauskas seized his chance and, beating the opponent's goalkeeper, put "Kruoja" in the lead.
After a quick goal, "Banga" gradually equalized the game and threatened the goal guarded by Mario Eltermanis more often. In the 34th minute, Tamazi Čargeišvili was fouled in the penalty area, but Žilvinas Banys missed the resulting penalty shot, hitting the crossbar.
After the break, both teams focused more on offense than defense. Eltermanis had to demonstrate his skill by parrying a very dangerous opponent's header from 5 meters.
In the 67th minute, a mistake by the "Banga" defenders allowed Andrius Lipskis to score, doubling "Kruoja's" advantage.
In the 73rd minute, L. Kochanauskas intercepted a pass to the goalkeeper and, with a cold-blooded shot, scored his second and the team's third goal.
In the 79th minute, with two "Banga" defenders slipping, Nerijus Astrauskas and Ričardas Beniušis found themselves in front of the goalkeeper, with the latter receiving a pass and sending the ball into the empty net.
After this victory, "Kruoja" caught up with Vilnius' "Žalgiris" and Klaipėda's "Atlantas" in the standings, as all three teams have the same number of points. Thanks to a better goal difference, "Kruoja" climbed to third place. "Banga," suffering its third defeat, remains in seventh place.
Pakruojo "Kruoja" - Gargždų "Banga" 4:0 (1:0).
"Kruoja": M.Eltermanis, A.Skroblas, G.Paulauskas, D.Strockis, V.Pocevičius (84 min. J.Busmič), N.Mačiulis, G.Slavickas (78 min. N.Astrauskas), A. Lipskis (88 min. D.Arlauskis), T.Miklinevičius, L.Kochanauskas, R.Beniušis.
"Banga": V.Myrnyi, A.Ivanauskas, M.Da Silva, M.Gudauskas, R.Borusas, Ž.Banys, A.Dos Santos, T.Salamanavičius, M.Kura, T. Čargeišvili (58 min. G.Nikabadze), A. Staponka (69 min. G. Kulbis).
Goals: L.Kochanauskas (9, 73), A.Lipskis (67), R.Beniušis (79).
Yellow card: V.Pocevičius (35).
Referees: A.Žuta, V.Petkus, A.Šeškus.
"SMScredit.lt A League" standings (place, team, matches, wins, draws, losses, goals, points):
1. "Ekranas" 4 3 1 0 13:5 10
2. "Žalgiris" 4 3 0 1 6:2 9
3. "Kruoja" 4 3 0 1 10:7 9
4. "Atlantas" 4 3 0 1 5:4 9
5. "Sūduva" 5 2 2 1 12:4 8
6. "Šiauliai" 4 1 2 1 4:3 5
7. "Banga" 5 1 1 3 3:10 4
8. "Dainava" 5 1 0 4 4:12 3
9. "Tauras" 5 0 0 5 2:12 0
Top scorers of the championship: G.Alaverdašvili ("Šiauliai") - 6 goals, N.Valskis ("Sūduva") - 5, U.Umeh, A.Buinickis (both "Ekranas"), K.Bilinski ("Žalgiris"), M.Kdouh ("Sūduva") - 3 each.
