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On Tuesday, Vilnius "Žalgiris" president and head coach Arminas Narbekovas celebrated two goals scored at home against Tallinn's "Levadia" to advance to the quarterfinals of the Baltic Football League.
"We need to be happy when we score two goals at home and win," said the coach after the match. "And our opponents managed to scored a goal without having many opportunities."
Narbekovas was pleased that the team, playing matches every three days, looked good on the field and was able to secure a victory.
"We have a secret weapon - Morinas," the Lithuanian said. "He once again solved all the questions at the end of the match, just like he does successfully in the Lithuanian championship."
Marius Rapalis defended "Žalgiris" goal for the second time. Narbekovas said that the main goalkeeper of the team, Ernestas Šetkus, had a severely bruised wrist and it is unclear how long he will not be able to play.
Asked to evaluate the performance of Rapalis who replaced him, Narbekovas had only good words: "I evaluate Rapalis' game very well, I have no complaints. Marius can only be praised, he played excellently in Marijampolė against 'Sūduva' and didn't make any mistakes today."
At the start of the second half, "Žalgiris" made two substitutions: Andrius Veikutis and Aleksėjus Dubyna came on for Artūras Steško and Marijan Choruži, who had recovered from injuries. Dubyna returned to the field after a seven-game break.
"Dubyna is not 100 percent healthy yet, but he was very eager to be on the field, worked hard during trainings," the coach assessed the Belarusian legionnaire's game. "We gave him a chance and he did well. I believe that a player of Dubyna's caliber can only improve his game."
When asked if the team missed the disqualified J.Bursucas today, as Anatolijus Ostapas, who replaced him on the right flank, looked awkward, Narbekovas jokingly replied: "What can you suggest? We did miss him today. However, as long as Bursucas is alive, it will be very difficult to move him from the main lineup."
When asked about the team's future plans in the Baltic League, the "Žalgiris" coach answered philosophically: "What can we plan if we do not know what tomorrow will bring?"
Reminded that "Žalgiris" will likely face "Kaunas" in the quarterfinals, Narbekovas replied: "We still need to wait for those matches. Will we be happy playing against 'Kaunas'? There is no difference, just like 'Chelsea' does not choose its opponents."
