Žalgiris derby match ends in a fierce draw

2025-04-06 21:19 © E. Žaldario/fkzalgiris.lt

The central match of the 5th round of the „TOPsport A league“ took place in the capital, where Vilnius „Žalgiris“ welcomed „Kauno Žalgiris“. The winner of the green and white derby remained undecided, and the fierce battle ended without goals –  0:0.

In the first 10 minutes, the Vilnius team had 2 good chances – a header by Giedrius Matulevičius flew close to the rectangle, and Joris Moutachy’s powerful shot from about 15 meters was stopped by Deividas Mikelionis. After half an hour, danger arose on the other side after a corner kick, but Anton Tolordava's attempt missed the target.

In the 34th minute, the Kaunas team made a mistake near their own goal, and Henrique Devensas, who could have turned the error into a goal, failed to find the target. After an hour of play, Romualdas Jansonas found himself in a good position, but the „Žalgiris“ defense held firm. H. Devensas found himself among several players after a lifted corner kick, his shot was blocked, and in a subsequent situation, the forward headed the ball wide of the goal.

As the match was coming to a close, Kassimas Hadji had a couple of chances; once the ball flew well past the goal, and the second attempt was stopped by D. Mikelionis, who reacted in time. As the last minute of the match ticked away, K. Hadji caught the opposing goalkeeper by surprise with a shot from afar, but this time the goal frame saved the Kaunas team.

After the 5th round of the „TOPsport A league“, „Žalgiris“ is ranked third with 9 points, while „Kauno Žalgiris“ has 8 points and is ranked one step lower.