© EuroFootball.com
On April 17th, at 7 pm, the "General Financing A Lyga" seventh round match between the teams of Marijampolė "Sūduva" and Klaipėda "Atlantas" will take place at the Marijampolė "Arvi" football arena. Fksuduva.lt spoke about the upcoming match with the coaches of both teams.
Romualdas Norkus, leading Klaipėda "Atlantas," stated that the beginning of the season did not make him too happy, and at the end of the championship, he would be satisfied with the 7-8th place in the standings.
- How do you rate your team's performance in the first 6 A Lyga rounds? - We haven't worked miracles, but we've earned a few points. You can't be happy with 5 points, but we have what we have. If things had gone well, we could have won more points, if not - fewer.
- What would you most like to improve in your team's game? - I would like us to play attractive football. At the moment, we are still far from that.
- Before the season, there was much talk about "Atlantas'" financial situation. What is the situation at the club now? - The situation is normal. Salaries are paid on time, we have what we need to travel to matches. Of course, we always want a better situation, but the current one is not bad.
- The A Lyga schedule is quite tight at the moment. Do the players feel tired? - The schedule is very tight. Our team's preparation period was difficult; we didn't have good preparation conditions like other teams. Now, we will play three matches in 8 days. After the match with "Kruoja," we feel tired. There will be even more problems after matches with the teams of "Sūduva" and "Ekranas." The team feels tired, some players are injured. The fact that we play our home matches in Gargždai adds to the difficult situation. You could say that we play all matches on the opponents' field. We train on one surface, but we have to play on another. Of course, this cannot be used as an excuse; there are teams that play in similar conditions.
- The season has started, and the teams' chances are clear. What final position in the standings would satisfy you? - The higher, the better. Personally, I would be satisfied if we took the 7-8th places. Of course, it's not good to speak like this, but let's be realistic. That's the situation now.
Meanwhile, the coach of "Sūduva," Virginijus Liubšys, had good news about injured players and said that "Sūduva" places high importance on defending their own goal.
- Has the team managed to recover after the tough matches in Gargždai? - Today (Monday), the team felt heavy, felt tired. Of course, Klaipėda "Atlantas" is in a similar situation, so there is nothing to complain about.
- Do you have good news about the health of K.Chvedukas and V.Borovskis? - K.Chvedukas' health is improving. The doctor said that he will be able to train on Monday. And V.Borovskis may be able to appear on the field as early as tomorrow.
- What impression does Klaipėda "Atlantas" leave at the beginning of the season? - It's a different team than last year. "Atlantas" has good players, the last few matches have shown that they can compete on the field. They are a stronger team than they were last season.
- In the last round in Gargždai, "Sūduva" managed to keep their goal "dry" despite having one less player on the field. Does this show an improvement in team defense? - It is very important that we managed not to concede a goal. I think it's crucial for us to keep our goal "dry" in every match because we will usually be able to score a goal, which will lead to a good result. In the last match, the team defended better than before.
So, the match between "Sūduva" and "Atlantas" will take place on April 17th at 7 pm.
