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After a draw in Šiauliai, VMFD "Žalgiris" team head coach Damiras Petravičius expressed regret for mistakes and missed opportunities.
In the VII round of the "General Financing A lyga” championship, VMFD "Žalgiris” team lost two points and the position of the league leader.
The Žalgiris team stumbled away against the "Šiauliai” team. The decision of the Šiauliai team to base their attack on counterattacks proved successful. In the 15th minute of the match, during a fast attack, Tautvydas Eliošius found himself one-on-one with Žalgiris goalkeeper Marius Rapala and scored the first goal.
VMFD "Žalgiris" did not falter after conceding a goal. Pavel Komolovas sent the ball into the net with a strong shot in the 26th minute to equalize the score.
"Šiauliai" continued to patiently wait for mistakes from Žalgiris defenders, and they received one at the end of the first half. Receiving a perfect pass from a teammate, Laurynas Rimavičius found himself one-on-one with Marius Rapala and scored the second goal.
In the second half, Žalgiris played more aggressively. In the 70th minute, C. Elliot earned a penalty kick, which Mantas Kuklys confidently converted. Throughout the remaining time, the Vilnius team created several very dangerous opportunities, but failed to convert them into goals. C. Elliot missed a great chance, while Tomislav Peko lacked cold-bloodedness on two occasions.
VMFD "Žalgiris" team head coach Damiras Petravičius was not disappointed with the draw.
“I think we played better throughout the match, but we made two gross mistakes and were punished with goals. I am glad that the players managed to equalize the score twice. With the score becoming 2:2, we created several very dangerous opportunities, but unfortunately did not score goals. In summary, what we saw on the field today, I believe that a draw is a positive result for us. There are still many more matches in the championship, so we will have time to make up for it,” said Damiras Petravičius.
“We fought, we tried, we wanted to prove to our fans that we can achieve victory and deserve a place on the podium,” said "Šiauliai” defender Laurynas Rimavičius after the match. “Many do not believe in us anymore, but we believe in ourselves and will fight with all our might. The draw does not satisfy us, because when stepping onto the field, one must fight only for victory. It is nice to play against 'Žalgiris’ on equal terms, but at home we need to defeat our opponents. 'Žalgiris' is a good team aiming for the championship title, so it is not surprising that at the end of the match they pressed us actively.”
“Šiauliai” strategist Deividas Kančelskis was happy that his team managed to achieve a positive result after four consecutive failures.
“Finally, we earned a point. Today we were well prepared and fought excellently. Of course, at certain moments 'Žalgiris' played better. We chose to base our attack on counterattacks. We lacked luck and finesse for the victory, but the players proved to themselves and others that it is too early to write us off. There were a lot of emotions in this match, but it is understandable. When two very eager teams meet – emotions are inevitable,” said D. Kančelskis.
