© EuroFootball.com
The best player of the month of May in the Lithuanian "General Financing A League" championship was recognized as Donatas Petrauskas from Pakruojis' "Kruoja" team.
During the month, the 29-year-old defender helped "Kruoja" earn 10 out of 12 possible points and for the first time in the club's history, they defeated Vilnius MFD "Žalgiris." These results allow the Pakruojis team to fight for medals - "Kruoja" is only one point behind Marijampolės "Sūduva" and four points behind "Žalgiris" after 14 rounds in the championship.
Petrauskas' performance recently received special recognition - the defender was invited to the Lithuanian national team for the first time. He participated in the team's training camp, but was unable to debut in the national team due to an injury.
"The prize and invitation to the national team were unexpected, but I am very happy. I have worked hard and apparently the time has come," said D.Petrauskas. "I have not received such awards during my player career before. I will try to make sure there will be more in the future."
The prize was traditionally presented to the player by the national team's strategist Csaba Laszlo, who regretted that the footballer could not join the team and wished him to continue proving his worth in the future.
"He left an impression on me as a versatile player, capable of both defending and attacking well," said Cs. Laszlo. "It's a shame that he couldn't play in the national team. But if D.Petrauskas continues to demonstrate such performance after recovering from the injury, he could be invited again in August."
Petrauskas' successful performance was also reflected in the statistics. In the "InStat Football" system presented in the "Futbolo.TV" website's competition center, his game was rated the best among players from both teams in matches (433 utility points), while in matches against "Dainava" and "Žalgiris" he ranked second (296 and 310 points).
The best players of the championship are selected by club representatives and the coaching staff of the Lithuanian national team.
