© EuroFootball.com
Panevėžio "Ekranas" on Tuesday could not win the Baltic Football League match in Tallinn against local TVMK, ending in a 3-3 draw and having to settle for a point, even though they led 3-1.
Tallinn "Kadriorg" Stadium
Tallinn 3 - 3 Panevėžio
7` [0 - 1] Dainius Saulėnas
38` [0 - 2] Dainius Saulėnas
45` [1 - 2] Artur Ossipov
63` [1 - 3] Andrius Šidlauskas
65` [2 - 3] Artur Ossipov
76` [3 - 3] Aleksandr Kulatšenko
"Ekranas": Skrupskis; Gleveckas, Paulauskas (46` Tumėnas), Rimavičius, Padaigis; Arlauskas (71` Skroblas), Banys (58` Lukšys), Šidlauskas, Galkevičius; Saulėnas, Varnas
"Ekranas", like two other Lithuanian teams, fielded fairly experimental lineups in their recent matches, but this did not prevent them from starting the match better and taking the lead in the seventh minute. After a pass from Andrius Šidlauskas on the right flank and a mistake in the TVMK defense, Egidijus Varnas ran alone towards the goalkeeper, but selflessly played the ball to a free Dainius Saulėnas, who easily put the guests ahead.
Trailing by one goal, TVMK attacked more actively and nearly equalized in the 13th minute when Kertas Haavistu outsmarted four "Ekranas" defenders technically, but his shot was unsuccessful and Arvydas Skrupskis kicked the ball away with his foot.
However, soon after, "Ekranas" players regained control and in the 38th minute D. Saulėnas doubled the lead receiving a great pass from a teammate.
Just before half-time, TVMK's attacking defender Arturas Ossipovas reduced the deficit, "slipping" the ball past Arvydas Skrupskis.
In the second half, TVMK looked much better on the field - the Estonians created chances to score one after another, but A. Ossipovas, Markus Jurgensonas, and Aleksandras Volodinas failed to convert their opportunities until "Ekranas" finally restored their two-goal lead: Povilas Lukšys, Egidijus Varnas, and Andrius Šidlauskas exploited another glaring mistake in the TVMK defense and ran past the opponent's goalkeeper Anton Trifonovas. Although the latter touched the ball, it fell directly to A. Šidlauskas, who scored.
However, a few minutes later, TVMK once again narrowed the gap against "Ekranas," when A. Ossipovas scored a second fantastic goal in the match, "throwing" A. Skrupskis after a pass from M. Jurgensonas.
TVMK continued to press the opponents and it paid off in the 76th minute when Aleksandr Kulatšenko intercepted a poor pass from an "Ekranas" defender to his teammate and leveled the score. After this goal, the pace of the match slowed down - it seemed that both teams were satisfied with the draw, so there were no more chances created for a goal.
After the match, the best TVMK player A. Ossipovas was not satisfied with the result: "We are not happy, we wanted to win. I believe we played better than the opponents today. In the second half, we had twice as many chances as they did. We aimed for victory, but that's football. It didn't work out for us this time, but at least we earned one point."
