© EuroFootball.com
Vilnius City Football Club "Žalgiris" will seek to taste victory at home on Sunday against Tauragė's "Tauras".
The people of Tauragė arrive in Vilnius in good spirits. In the last two rounds of the "General Financing A league", "Tauras" achieved two victories. In the fourth round, they managed to defeat Vilnius REO 1:0, and in the previous round, they beat the favorites of the duel Šiauliai "Šiauliai" with the same result on their own field.
The author of the winning goal at that time, Lukas Martišauskis, said: "Our game is definitely improving, we are showing more mature football. The fact that several high-level players have joined the team also influences the victories. With this lineup, we can achieve a lot in the A league."
The latest victory allowed "Tauras" to rise to the middle of the tournament table. In the first five rounds, they won two victories, suffered three defeats, and earned six points. The same number of points is held by Šiauliai "Šiauliai" and Alytus "Dainava".
Before the VI round match with VMFD "Žalgiris", the defense of Tauragė's "Tauras" should be the main concern for their coach. Tournament table leaders Panevėžis "Ekranas" and Marijampolė "Sūduva" were allowed to score 4 and 5 goals respectively. After five rounds, the goal difference for the Tauragė team is -7. Only Klaipėda "Atlantas" has a worse goal difference (-9). In order to avoid another defeat from the leaders of the "General Financing A League", the players and coaching staff of "Tauras" will have to make serious conclusions.
In the VMFD "Žalgiris" camp, positive vibes also prevail. After experiencing their first defeat to Panevėžis "Ekranas" in the V round, the green and whites returned to the path of victory on Wednesday. In the first semi-final of the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) Cup, the residents of Vilnius beat Marijampolė's "Sūduva" 1:0 in front of their own fans. On Sunday, the green and whites will seek to give their fans another victory and at the same time solidify their position at the top of the tournament table.
The Žalgiris players will strive not to succumb to fatigue and will fight for victory in tomorrow's match. "After winning the first LFF Cup semi-final match, there is a good atmosphere in the team. Of course, those matches cost us a lot of physical and emotional strength, but there can be no relaxation. We understand perfectly that this month we face an intensive schedule, so we must work patiently and aim for victory in every match. The players are professionals, so they are always ready to give their all on the field," said Mindaugas Čepas, assistant coach of VMFD "Žalgiris". "We are preparing very responsibly for tomorrow's match because we will face a strong opponent. "Tauras" has won the last two matches, so we must assess the abilities of this team. We carefully analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the opponents and we know that they do the same. We do not underestimate the crushing defeats of "Tauras" to Panevėžis "Ekranas" and Marijampolė "Sūduva" because every game is different.
Former longtime coach of Marijampolė's "Sūduva" Algimantas Gabrys predicts victory for VMFD "Žalgiris" team. "The people from Vilnius had a difficult start to the season, but later their game left a very good impression. The people of Žalgiris should expect a tough battle on Sunday, but I think they will manage to win. I guess that VMFD "Žalgiris" will win the match by 3:0," says the well-known football specialist.
Before the VI round of the "General Financing A League", there is a triple tie in the tournament table. VMFD "Žalgiris", Panevėžis "Ekranas", and Marijampolė "Sūduva" have 12 points each. Žalgiris is in first place due to a better goal difference (+12).
