© E. Žaldario
On Sunday, an unexpected result was recorded in the 35th round of the "Optibet A League". FA "Šiauliai" defeated the already crowned champions Vilnius "Žalgiris" 3:0 (1:0) at home.
The match was marked by one of Lithuania's most decorated footballer Algirdas Jankauskas bidding farewell to professional football. The Vilnius player started the match and in the fifth minute was symbolically replaced amidst applause and greetings.
In the duel, the Šiauliai team did not allow their opponents to take the initiative and in the 28th minute managed to break through. O. Ščebetunas provoked a mistake by Dinmukhammed Kashkeno in the penalty area and converted a penalty kick.
At the end of the first half, the Šiauliai team threatened the opponents' goal a few more times. In different counterattacks, O. Ščebetunas and Eligijus Jankauskas failed to beat the goalkeeper Tomislav Duko in time.
After the break, FA "Šiauliai" once again outclassed the champions. In the 52nd minute, Gabrielius Micevičius hit the crossbar, and Eligijus Jankauskas scored the second goal.
Although "Žalgiris" became more active in attack, the team from Šiauliai made the result decisive. In the 69th minute, O. Ščebetunas had plenty of space after a pass from Daniel Romanovskis and converted his opportunity - the Ukrainian scored the 11th goal of the season.
This was the second consecutive defeat for "Žalgiris" and the third in this season's "Optibet A League". FA "Šiauliai" remains in seventh place, where they will stay after the final round.
