© EuroFootball.com
On Tuesday in Vilnius, "Žalgiris" defeated Tallinn's "Levadia" football players 2-1 in the Baltic Football League C group matches and advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament, where they will meet with the football players of "Kaunas".
Vilnius "Žalgiris" Stadium Vilnius 2 - 1 Tallinn 44` [1 - 0] Edvinas Lukoševičius 61` [1 - 1] Indrek Zelinski 85` [2 - 1] Nikolaj Misiuk
"Žalgiris": Rapalis; Lukoševičius, Ngaponou, I.Steško, M.Choruži (45` Dubyna); Morinas, Poderis, Ostap, A.Steško (45` Veikutis), Vilėniškis; Mižigurskis (67` Misiuk)
"Levadia": Kotenko; Kalimullin, Čepauskas, Lemsalu, Malov; Vassiljev, Dmitrijev (69` Smirnov), Nahk, Kink; Leitan (90` Teniste), Zelinski (74` Purje)
"Žalgiris", whose attacking defender Julian Bursucas and injured Ernestas Šetkus could not play due to disqualification, the head coach decided to send only one striker onto the field - Valerijus Mižigurskis, choosing a five-defender line.
Both teams started the match very slowly and the first chance for a goal was created only in the 15th minute, when after a pass from Edvinas Lukoševičius from the right wing, Igoris Morinas failed to hit the target with his head in the penalty area.
In response, "Levadia" almost scored with a dangerous attack, but Bertrandas Ngapounou timely intercepted a great pass from Aleksandr Dmitrijev.
Shortly after a long-range shot from Eimantas Poderis, three Žalgiris players failed to "close" the ball in the far post, and after a few minutes during Žalgiris' counterattack, E.Poderis attempted a powerful shot from 20 meters, but over the goal.
After these episodes, the game on the field became cautious and somewhat boring, while the referee showed yellow cards one after another to players from both teams.
In the 36th minute, all the spectators in the stadium were lifted from their seats by "Levadia" defender Andrej Kalimullinas - according to the audience, he touched the ball with his hand in the penalty area, but the referee did not award an eleven-meter penalty.
Approaching the end of the very bland first half, "Žalgiris" managed to break forward - E.Poderis successfully lifted a corner taken by V.Mižigurskis, and in the penalty area higher than everyone else, E.Lukoševičius rose, taking the hosts forward and scoring his fourth goal of the season.
In the second half, the fairly bland battle continued, but in the 58th minute A.Ostapas tried his luck from distance, but his shot was too weak.
In the 61st minute, the score became equal - after receiving a great pass from the depth of the field, the most effective "Levadia" player Indrek Zelinski beat the offside trap and being alone in front of the goalkeeper successfully lobbed Marius Rapalis with a single touch.
Since only "Levadia" was satisfied with this result, "Žalgiris" attacked, leaving gaps in their defense. In the 71st minute, one of those gaps was almost utilized by Konstantin Vassiljev, who ran one-on-one against M.Rapalis, but shot directly at the goalkeeper.
With just over ten minutes left to play, Anatolijus Ostapas missed the chance to score after a corner with his teammate in the penalty area.
With a little over five minutes left to play, "Levadia" almost equalized - after a great pass from Denis Malov from the right wing, Vitalijus Leitanas headed the ball strongly just beside the goal.
But a minute later, the players and fans of "Žalgiris" celebrated - I.Morinas, the excellent left-back of the Lithuanian national team, played the ball into the penalty area, where, unmarked, Nikolaj Misiuk appeared after a substitution on the field, and with a single touch defeated the "Levadia" goalkeeper.
Although "Levadia" attacked the "Žalgiris" goal, the Vilnius team defended reliably and secured a favorable result for themselves.
