Marijampolė's 'Sūduva' defeated Vilnius 'Riteriai' in a fluctuating match.

2025-03-01 19:05

The goals fiesta in the 1st round of the "TOPsport A League" took place in the capital, where Vilnius "Riteriai" faced Marijampolė's "Sūduva". In a high-scoring match, the Marijampolė team celebrated victory, defeating the Vilnius team with a score of 4:3 (2:2).

The "Sūduva" players converted their first dangerous chance into a goal, with Nauris Petkevičius scoring with a header in the 5th minute. However, the guests couldn't enjoy the lead for long, as the home team equalized in the 7th minute with a precise shot from Meinardas Mikulėnas, who found himself at the right place and time to direct the ball into the net with his head.

After half an hour of play, Ignas Plūkas committed a foul in his penalty area, leading to a penalty kick taken confidently by Rokas Stanulevičius.

In added time of the first half, Andrius Kaulinis had a good opportunity to score, but I. Plūkas defended the goal. Just a few moments later, the Marijampolė team punished the "Riteriai" for a defensive mistake, with N. Petkevičius passing the ball to Kota Sakurai, who was successful in scoring.

"Sūduva" entered the field after the break effectively – after a pass from Idris Momoh, Sidy Sanokho neutralized the opponents' goalkeeper, and just two minutes later, Maksymas Pyrogovas increased the lead, receiving an excellent pass from the already scoring S. Sanokho.

In the 73rd minute, Jakubas Wawščykas made a strong attempt that resulted in a goal, narrowing the guests' lead to minimal. Towards the end of the match, Garissone'as Innocentas dealt with a powerful shot from Marko Benetos.

Donatas Vencevičius' debut in Marijampolė was successful – the head coach registered a victory against the opponents from Vilnius and did so somewhat unexpectedly compared to last season's "Sūduva", scoring as many as 4 goals.