© L. Stankevičiaus/FK „Viltis“;
Due to the renovation of the LFF stadium, the derby between "Žalgiris" C and "Viltis" was moved to the Senvagė stadium, and the 13th round of the LFF II league lasted a couple of days longer than planned. There were no surprises in the eight games, except for a heavy defeat for "Saned" - 0:9.
Altogether, 26 goals were scored during the round, with Nedas Totilas from Tauragė's "Tauras" becoming the league's top scorer with three goals.
Main Match
After occupying first and third places in the standings until this round, the "Hegelmann" B and "Atmosfera" clubs each moved down a step, as they drew 1:1 in a head-to-head battle. This marked the end of a ten-game winning streak for both teams from Kaunas district.
An interesting fact is that the main statistics of this match were created by players from Japan. "Atmosfera" surged ahead after Shuto Asano's goal at the end of the first half, but Ryuga Nakamura equalized the score for "Hegelmann" B with thirteen minutes left until the final whistle.
The "Banga" B and "Šilutė" clubs took advantage of these draws by winning 1:0 against "Sveikata" and "Dainava" B, respectively. Klaidas Birgiola scored the winning goal in the 83rd minute for the former, while Rokas Rusys scored in the dying seconds of stoppage time for the latter.
Bottom of the Table
It became clear after "Džiugas" B defeated "Dembava" that Kybartai's "Sveikata" and Vilnius' "Viltis" would share the bottom two places (15th and 16th) in the standings after the first half of the season. "Džiugas" B won at home against "Dembava" with a single goal from Domas Jankevičius at the end of the first half. This goal and the three points increased "Džiugas" B's lead over "Sveikata" to six points and over "Viltis" to eight points.
We have already mentioned that "Sveikata" delivered a serious blow to the current leaders "Banga" B, while "Viltis" lost 2:5 to "Žalgiris" C's youth team. Having one of the worst seasons in recent years, "Viltis" found themselves trailing by two goals before the end of the first half. Both teams scored before halftime, but in the second half, the dominance of "Žalgiris" C made life easier with more goals.
Match of the Round
The team from Tauragė, occupying seventh place, had an easy victory against Joniškis' "Saned," scoring nine goals. Due to financial problems resulting in the loss of their key players, Joniškis suffered 16 goals in the last two games and dropped to 13th place in the standings based on goals scored and conceded.
In the face-off with "Tauras," the Joniškis team held on for only two minutes before Paulius Trijonis scored the first goal of the match. Three minutes later, Mindaugas Banzinas repeated the feat, sealing another defeat for "Saned."
Results
Kybartai "Sveikata" - Gargždai "Banga" B 0:1;
FKS "Ukmergė" - Klaipėdos FM 1:1;
Kauno "Fortūna" - Marijampolės "Sūduva" B 0:3;
Kaunas "Hegelmann" B - Mažeikiai "Atmosfera" 1:1;
Tauragė "Tauras" - Joniškis "Saned" 9:0;
Alytus "Dainava" B - "Šilutė" 0:1;
Vilnius "Žalgiris" C - Vilnius "Viltis" 5:2;
Telšiai "Džiugas" B - Panevėžys district "Dembava" 1:0.
Round 14
The penultimate round of the first half of the season will start with two games on Friday. In one match, two Samogitian teams ("Atmosfera" and "Džiugas" B) will face off, while in the other, the two strongest teams in the league ("Banga" and "Hegelmann" B) will compete.
The round will end next Monday, and some teams will play their final matches before the summer break on Tuesday.
