Kaunas Žalgiris broke the Vikings for the second time

2024-12-09 16:42 © lff.lt

After the weekend's matches of the "TOPsport futsal A league" in the eleventh round, there were no significant changes in the tournament table. The only changes were the return of the "Gargždų pramogų" club to the third position and the rise of Mažeikiai VIP to the fifth place.

The Central Duel

In the last matches of the calendar year 2024, the Jonavos "Vikingai" faced off against "Kauno Žalgiris" away, but the champion, who has not lost any points this season, proved stronger once again.

After four minutes of play, the Žalgiris team created a counterattack on the right flank, and Alan Jefferson, waiting by the far post, scored with a shot from about a meter to put his team ahead.

Almost halfway through the first half, Benas Spietinis had a perfect opportunity to equalize the score, but Jordan, who made a prior mistake, managed to return to the goal, and the score remained unchanged. The score changed in the second to last minute of the first half, when after a counterattack three against two, Benjamin Smajičius passed the ball to Artūras Juchno, and he scored unopposed.

The first half ended in a draw, and just ten seconds into the second half, the "Vikingai" made a rough mistake and were consequently punished.

With three minutes left to play, Justinas Zagurskas logged his second assist, and A. Jefferson scored his second goal. The guests from Jonava were helpless against the exemplary attack by the Kaunas team.

After falling behind by two goals, the "Vikingai" replaced their goalkeeper with a fifth player. Just seconds later, Albertas Voskunovič was very close to scoring again, but this time the "Vikingai" got lucky.

After a minute and a half, patiently looking for an opponent's mistake, the Jonavos representatives found one, and Viktor Kravcov scored. There were 86 seconds left until the end of the match. The score did not change during that time.

"Kauno Žalgiris" – "Vikingai" 3:2

Goals: A. Jefferson 2, F. Da Silva; A. Juchno, V. Kravcov

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No less intrigue was present in the match in Naujoji Akmenė, where "Akmenės kraštas" hosted the "Gargždų pramogų" footballers who had suffered a defeat the week before. Here, the winner was also determined by a single goal.

The hosts had a rough start to the duel. After a mistake in the middle of the pitch and leaving great space for the opponents, Aurimas Skurdelis sent the ball into the net.

After gaining the lead, the Gargždai players continued to look for mistakes from their opponents, and they did so successfully. Several missed opportunities led to a perfect pass from goalkeeper Žymantas Butkus to Deividas Reimaris, who was left completely free at the post. One of the best players of the league this season did not miss, and the score became 2:0.

Before the first half ended, Ž. Butkus registered his second assist when he delivered the ball almost across the entire pitch to D. Reimaris, who headed it over the "Akmenės krašto" goalkeeper, increasing the Gargždai lead to 3:0.

Shortly after, "Akmenės krašto" main goalkeeper Andrei Cividini collided with Gargždai player Denisas Mahitinas and had to give up his place to Povilas Mickevičius due to injury. The latter stayed dry for just three seconds, as in the very first set-piece after a good pass, Donatas Surblys scored the team’s fourth goal.

The brilliant first half for the "Gargždų pramogų" players allowed them to slow down the pace, while the hosts needed exactly that. Several missed opportunities, and almost halfway through the first half, the first goal was scored.

After another three minutes, Jose Wellington reduced the gap to 2:4 with a direct free kick, and with almost five minutes left to play, Goncalves Rodrigues, sprinting one-on-one with the goalkeeper, minimized the deficit.

Those last five minutes were very difficult for "Pramogos," but the Gargždai team survived, secured three points in the table, and climbed to third place.

"Akmenės kraštas" – "Gargždų pramogos" 3:4

Goals: A. Da Cunha, J. Wellington, G. Rodrigues; D. Reimaris 2, A. Skurdelis, D. Surblys

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The most convincing victory of the round belongs to Vilkaviškis "Bruklinas," who essentially settled matters in the first half. After it, the Vilkaviškis players led 4:0 against "VGTU Vilkai." However, the first goal took almost 15 minutes to arrive.

Renanas Cardoso opened the scoring with a fantastic shot into the far upper corner of the goal. The best player of the "TOPsport futsal A league" for November has already undoubtedly become a contender for the most beautiful goal of December.

The conceded goal threw the "Vilkai" off so much that they conceded a second goal a minute later, a third two minutes after that, and a fourth just a minute later. Thus, at halftime, the guests found themselves with a four-goal deficit.

Right at the start of the second half, the hosts gifted the guests a goal, but soon the difference between the teams was again four goals. In the second half, both teams exchanged accurate shots again, and Benas Buzevičius added the final touch with a shot into an empty net with a minute to go.

Interestingly, "Bruklinas" scored seven goals through seven different players. Meanwhile, Jurgis Stankevičius was the sole scorer for "VGTU Vilkai."

"Bruklinas" – "VGTU Vilkai" 7:2

Goals: R. Cardoso, I. Peletskyi, F. Anderson, G. Čibirka, G. Lima, A. Pečiulis, B. Buzevičius; J. Stankevičius 2

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In the last match of the round, Mažeikių VIP defeated "Kėdainiai United" and fought for their fourth victory of the season. In their second consecutive match, Kėdainiai fought admirably, but their failure was determined by the last few minutes.

It took just four minutes to wait for the first goal. After an ideal goalkeeper's pass, Aivaras Bagočius touched the ball to the right with one touch and sent it into the net with the second. Before the break, Rimvydas Lipnevičius easily deceived his opponent and equalized the score with a strong long-range shot.

The first half of the second half belonged to the Mažeikiai team, during which they built a two-goal lead. However, in just four minutes, "Kėdainiai United" restored balance.

The final scores in the match were provided by veterans Edgaras Stankevičius and Arūnas Šteinas. The opponents were helpless against their individual abilities.

Mažeikių VIP – "Kėdainiai United"

Goals: A. Bagočius 2, G. Klemenis, E. Stankevičius, A. Šteinas; R. Lipnevičius 2, A. Gėgžna