© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday, the Lithuanian football championship season ended.
The title winner was defended by Panevezys "Ekranas," who played a 2-2 draw with Marijampole's "Suduva" in the final round at home.
Panevezys collected 80 points in 33 rounds and had already secured the first position, guaranteeing a ticket to the second qualifying round of the Champions League in the next season.
The second place was won by Vilnius "Zalgiris" (72 points), ending the year with a 3-1 victory over Alytus "Dainava" (45 points). Along with "Suduva" (65 points), the Vilnius team will compete in the UEFA Europa League.
The bottom two teams were Klaipeda's "Atlantas" (11 points), who conceded 121 goals, and "Klaipeda" (9 points). According to the rules, the club that finished in last place withdrew from the competition and made way for Vilnius REO.
The most productive player in the final round was "Zalgiris" striker Deividas Matulevicius, who scored three goals. The 22-year-old player with 19 accurate shots surpassed the long-standing leaders Arsenij Buinickij from "Dainava" and Goran Jerkovic from "Tauras" (both with 17 goals).
The biggest victory of the season was achieved by "Suduva," who defeated "Atlantas" 13-0.
Final standings of the "A League" tournament: (place, club, points)
1. "Ekranas" 80 points 2. "Zalgiris" 72 3. "Suduva" 65 4. "Siauliai" 59 5. "Kruoja" 49 6. "Banga" 46 7. "Tauras" 45 8. "Dainava" 45 9. "Mazeikiai" 36 10. "FBK Kaunas" 26 11. "Atlantas" 11 12. "Klaipeda" 9
Top scorers: (place, player, club, goals)
1. D.Matulevicius ("Zalgiris") 19 2-3. A.Buinickij ("Dainava") 17 2-3. G.Jerkovic ("Tauras") 17 4-6. T.Eliosius ("Suduva") 12 4-6. P.Luksys ("Suduva") 12 4-6. S.Zygalov ("Mazeikiai"/"Suduva") 12 7-8. R.Seedorf ("Tauras") 11 7-8. E.Razulis ("Kaunas") 11 9-12. M.Andelkovic ("Ekranas") 9 9-12. A.Velicka ("Ekranas") 9 9-12. R.Beniusis ("Suduva") 9 9-12. A.Rimkevicius ("Siauliai") 9
