Žalgiris Youth: We Are on Cloud Nine

2024-10-03 09:30 © E. Žaldario

After the memorable victory against Wales, the players of the "Žalgiris" youth team, returning to Vilnius, said that the achieved result exceeded expectations and talked about a dream encounter with "Manchester United".

The Žalgiris team won the first match against "The New Saints" at home with a score of 3:2 and triumphed 4:0 away. After the match, the team flew home from the United Kingdom that same night, arriving in Vilnius by Wednesday noon. They were greeted by the head of "Žalgiris", Vilma Venslovaitienė, and the men's team coach, Vladimir Čeburinas.

According to Patrik Matyžonok, who scored two goals, the team did not prepare to defend the score before the second match: "The coaches emphasized that we shouldn't back down, we mustn't 'park the bus', and we need to score the first goal. To calm down, to let them feel who is who, and who needs the victory more."

"The emotions are fantastic. It's probably the first time in my life I've been in such euphoria. We all understand – the match was of great importance. We went through to the next stage for the first time. We were definitely on cloud nine," said goalkeeper Joris Aliukonis.

He managed to keep the goal "clean" during the second half of the first match and all 90 minutes of the away game.

"We all did an analysis; we had a couple of training sessions. We established a connection with the defenders, we communicated, and they really did a fantastic job in the second match," said the goalkeeper. "I didn’t expect we would win 4:0; I was hoping for 1:0 or 2:0. I have to give credit to Patrik and Romualdas. I expected the matches would be tough. The first half was really psychologically very challenging. Those two goals changed everything psychologically and really broke the spirit of the opponents. I went into the second half with a slightly calmer mindset."

The X factor of the second match was P. Matyžonok, who utilized his speed in the first half and scored two goals on counters. "This is my job – to score goals. The coach decided that this time I would play on the wing while Vakaris Berenta played as a forward. That might have had some effect. It’s the coach's credit for changing our positions," said the forward.

A year ago, he played in the defense line, but this winter, coach Vladimir Čeburinas saw potential in him for the attack in the men's team.

"Would I have believed a year ago that I would score two goals in the UEFA Youth League? No chance. I never thought it was possible. My job is to do everything I can. Everything changed through practice; the more you play, the more accustomed you become," he said.

In three weeks, the Žalgiris team will face a challenge at home against one of the world's biggest clubs’ youth teams.

"It’s very exciting that finally someone from the big leagues, like "Manchester United", is coming to Lithuania. I hope the stadium will be full. We will need to show everything we know," said P. Matyžonok.

"For every person, child, teenager playing football, it would be great to play against such a team," stated J. Aliukonis.

The match between the "Žalgiris" youth team and "Manchester United" will take place on October 23 and November 6.