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On Sunday in Palanga, the friendly international "Palanga Juzė" football tournament, which lasted for a week, ended with Klaipėda's "Atlantas" winning in the final against "Šilutė". The third place went to the Lithuanian youth national team, defeating Kaliningrad's "Baltika-2" team.
"Atlantas" secured the first position in Group I after victories against the Lithuanian youth (up to 18 years old) national team, "Baltika-2", and Vilnius "Žalgiris" clubs. However, in the match against Liepaja's "Metalurgs-2" team, the players from Klaipėda lost. In the group, "Žalgiris" finished third, while the Lithuanian U-18 national team ended up in last place.
"Šilutė" won Group II, defeating Kaliningrad's "Baltika-Tarko" and "Olimps" teams, and drawing with the Lithuanian youth (up to 19 years old) national team and "Ventspils-2" team. Even though they had the same number of points, due to a lesser goal difference, the Lithuanian U19 national team finished second in the group, ahead of all three foreign teams.
Therefore, the match for the third place was played between the teams remaining in Group II, the Lithuanian U-19 national team and "Baltika-2". After a goalless main game time, penalties were taken, and after a tough and productive series, the young Lithuanians celebrated victory with a score of 8-7.
In the tournament final, "Atlantas" faced the team from the neighboring town of "Šilutė". The Klaipėda team took the lead after a goal from A. Laurišas in the first half, but later M. Bezykornovas, loaned from "Kaunas," equalized for the team from Šilutė. However, about ten minutes before the end, "Atlantas" secured victory with another goal from A. Laurišas, who was later chosen as the best player of the tournament.
This was probably the last friendly tournament before the official start of the new Lithuanian football season, kicking off with the first round of the LFF Cup on March 18.
