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On Wednesday in Marijampolė, the VMFD "Žalgiris" team will once again seek to defeat "Sūduva" in the semifinals of the LFF Cup and advance to the final.
The Vilnius city football club "Žalgiris" will face the "Sūduva" team for the third time this season. In the first two encounters, the victory went to the players of Žalgiris. In the "General Financing A Lyga," the Marijampolė team was defeated 4:0, and two weeks ago in the LFF Cup match, Žalgiris narrowly won 1:0. However, both victories were achieved by VMFD "Žalgiris" at their home stadium.
Two weeks have passed since the last encounter between Vilnius and Marijampolė. During this period, both teams played three matches. The "Žalgiris" footballers performed better in them. They won 2:0 at home against Tauragė's "Tauro" team, played a 2:2 draw in Šiauliai against the "Šiauliai" team, and in the last round of the "General Financing A Lyga," they won the Vilnius derby against the "REO" team with a score of 2:1. Meanwhile, "Sūduva" won 1:0 on the road against Gargždai's "Bangа," mercilessly defeated Klaipėda's "Atlantas" 6:0 at home, and unexpectedly lost 2:1 to Pakruojis "Kruoja" this weekend in Panevėžys.
The recent failure of "Sūduva" did not surprise the head coach of Žalgiris, Damiras Petravičius. "There comes a time when teams lose or drop points. We recently played a draw with Šiauliai, and 'Sūduva' lost to 'Kruoja.' There are no unbeatable teams," said Petravičius.
Talking about the upcoming second leg of the LFF Cup semifinal against the Marijampolė team, Petravičius said that his team will need to score at least one goal. "The result achieved at home satisfies us, but it by no means guarantees a ticket to the next stage. For a more peaceful life, we will need to score at least one goal. I also think that 'Sūduva' plays better in the return matches. We saw what this team is capable of in their own stadium in the first matches of this season when they beat Panevėžys 'Ekranas' 3:1. I watched that match. 'Sūduva's' game left a good impression on me," said Petravičius. - "However, on Wednesday, the opponents will probably no longer have such a significant advantage on the field as they have had so far.
"They, like us, will be playing official matches on natural grass for the first time this season. Which team will adapt better to such changes we will see very soon."
Tomislav Pekas, the hero of last weekend's Vilnius football derby, believes that the "Sūduva" players should feel more pressure. "We are going to Marijampolė with a fairly safe advantage. We kept a 'clean sheet,' so playing away from home will satisfy us with a draw. Meanwhile, the opponents will have to think about scoring a goal or even several throughout the match. I think we are the better team, so we will fight not for a draw but for victory," said the Croatian legionnaire. - Personally, the natural grass should be an advantage for me, as I always played on grass. When I arrived in Lithuania, I had to adjust to different pitches."
"Žalgiris" would lead "Sūduva" to the final stage of the LFF Cup with any victory by a two-goal margin. In the case of a 1-0 victory for the Marijampolė club, an extra time would be played. If the home team were to win the match with a one-goal lead but concede a goal, the "Žalgiris" team would advance to the next stage.
The second leg of the LFF Cup semifinal between Marijampolė's "Sūduva" and Vilnius city football club "Žalgiris" will take place at the main Marijampolė football club stadium. This will be the first match of "Sūduva" on natural grass, not artificial turf, this season. So far, all "Sūduva" home matches have been played at the "Arvi" football arena. The second LFF Cup semifinal match will start at 8 p.m.
