© EuroFootball.com
Teams that have reached the intermediate finish will go into battle in the second round of the "General Financing A League". The central match of the X round will take place on Wednesday in Panevėžys, where local team "Ekranas" will seek revenge against Marijampolė's "Sūduva". The round will start with a match between "Šiauliai" and Klaipėda's "Atlantas" on Tuesday. In Tauragė, "Tauras" will face Pakruojo "Kruoja", in Vilnius "Reo" will take on "Dainava", and "Žalgiris" will try to extend their winning streak with a match against "Banga" at home.
"It's quite an interesting championship," says football coach Vytautas Jančiauskas. "There are more unpredictable teams now. A few teams can win or lose against anyone. The balance of power is equal. For now, it's spring football. We can draw bigger conclusions when half of the season's matches have been played. The game on artificial and natural turf is different."
At the moment, according to the football specialist leading the team "Trakai" in the I League, "Žalgiris" and "Dainava" started the championship very inconsistently, "Ekranas" started slowly and deservedly lost to "Sūduva". V. Jančiauskas expected more from "Šiauliai", whom he has coached.
The coach pays more attention to the I League, and watches the "General Financing A League" matches as much as possible.
"Šiauliai" - Klaipėda "Atlantas" Time - May 1, 19:00 Location - Šiauliai city municipal stadium Live broadcast on Futbolo.TV Vytautas Jančiauskas' forecast - 2:0.
Before the season, "Šiauliai" who have 7 points are in seventh place. "Atlantas" with 6 points occupies the last, 10th place.
The team of "Atlantas" was formed at the last moment. "Šiauliai" are the favorites of the match. Even more so, they will play at home," says V. Jančiauskas. The match with "Atlantas" will be the first one for the new head coach of "Šiauliai" Gediminas Jarmalavičius. He replaced Deivis Kančelskis, who resigned after a poor result against "Banga".
"I don't think a coach can change anything until the first matches. Jarmalavičius is experienced enough, but there is not enough time," says V. Jančiauskas.
The coach is surprised by the game of "Šiauliai", as in friendly matches with "Reo", the team played very disciplined. Although the team does not have stars, they left an impression of a strong team.
"I think that after failures, the club administration should take responsibility first. After every loss, they raise demands, listen to and express opinions of the street, fans. If you appointed a head coach, you must trust him. No manager, director or president should interfere with the work. Everyone should fully support the coach," said V. Jančiauskas, who previously worked in Šiauliai.
The coach did not have the opportunity to see "Atlantas" this year, but in his opinion, based on the names, it is not a bad team. The biggest problems of the team are incomplete preparation and financial problems.
In the first round match, "Šiauliai" beat "Atlantas" in Gargdai 3:0. The goals were scored by Santiago Cesanelli (12th minute), Artūras Rimkevičius (73rd min) and Igoris Kozlovas (89th minute).
"Tauras" Tauragė - Pakruojo "Kruoja" Time - May 2, 17:00 Location - Tauragė old stadium Live broadcast on Futbolo.TV Vytautas Jančiauskas' forecast - 1:1.
"Tauras" with 7 points and in eighth position will host "Kruoja" with ambitious goals and occupying the fourth place with 14 points.
"In these matches, anything can be expected. "Kruoja" can win, at home "Tauras" will strive to play well. Objectively speaking, Pakruojo team is stronger," shared his thoughts V. Jančiauskas.
In the last round, "Kruoja" lost 0:1 to "Ekranas" in Panevėžys. The match took place at the Panevėžys "Aukštaitija" stadium. Now the teams will have to play on artificial turf. The Tauras team is more accustomed to it.
"The result of the match between "Kruoja" and "Ekranas" is logical. Let's not underestimate the champions team. They have been the strongest team for several years in a row. "Ekranas" players have a psychological advantage," said V. Jančiauskas.
The team led by the football specialist hasn't seen "Trakai" played with "Tauras" before. V. Jančiauskas was impressed by the opponents: "A young, promising team. Such a club policy is commendable. However, their place in the A league tournament table will be around the middle, perhaps a little lower."
"Kruoja" has mostly spent its preparatory period in Marijampolė, so, according to V. Jančiauskas, the team's game and results may change when they start playing on natural grass. "The results of the first round matches of the Pakruojo team were neither successful nor very good," evaluated the performance of the team currently in the fourth place, the football coach.
The first round match at the Panevėžys football academy stadium ended with a 1:0 victory for "Kruoja" against "Tauras". Tomas Miklinevičius scored a goal in the 7th minute.
Panevėžys "Ekranas" - Marijampolės "Sūduva" Time - May 2, 19:00 Location - Panevėžys "Aukštaitija" stadium Live broadcast on Futbolo.TV Vytautas Jančiauskas' forecast - 2:0.
In the central X round match in Panevėžys, the league leaders local team "Ekranas" (24 points) will host "Sūduva" (19 points).
"The residents of Panevėžys will try their best to prove that the loss to "Sūduva" in the first round was accidental. First of all, they will need to convince themselves of this. The match will be very important psychologically," emphasized V. Jančiauskas.
According to him, much will depend on how "Ekranas" manages to stop "Sūduva" leader Rafael Ledesma: "He can 'fire' at any time. The Marijampolė team also has other good players, they can counterattack quickly. However, their problem is that they don't keep the ball for long."
Currently, "Ekranas" and "Sūduva" are in different moods. Residents of Panevėžys won eight consecutive league matches. In addition, they won two matches in the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) Cup semi-finals against "Reo". "Sūduva" not only did not reach the cup final, but also played a 0:0 draw at home with the same Vilnius team last weekend. A week ago, Marijampolė lost 1:2 to "Kruoja" in Panevėžys.
Two unsuccessful matches may give the impression that "Sūduva" is in trouble. A team fighting for high places cannot scatter points like that. It's a crisis," thickened V. Jančiauskas.
Up to that point, "Sūduva" had left a good impression on the coach. The team bounced back after a painful 0:4 defeat to "Žalgiris" and their game improved. V. Jančiauskas also remembered the LFF Cup semi-final match in Vilnius, where "Sūduva" lost to Žalgiris 0:1, but missed grateful opportunities. Finally, the Marijampolė team beat the Vilnius team 2:1 at home, but didn't make it to the final because of a goal scored by "Žalgiris" in away game. V. Jančiauskas called the overall league result (2:2) logical.
"Ekranas" is currently playing spring football, but has potential. They like to play a combination game, quickly transitioning from defense to offense. I think in the middle of the season, Panevėžys should be brighter leaders," praised V. Jančiauskas the "Ekranas" team.
In the season opener, "Sūduva" beat the visitors 3:1 in Marijampolė. The victorious goals were scored by Marius Šoblinskas (48 min.), Sergėjus Loginovas (76 min.) and R. Ledesma (92 min.). "Ekranas" scored a goal through Vytautas Lukša (86 min.).
Vilnius "Reo" - Alytus "Dainava" Time - May 2, 20:30 Location - Vilnius "Žalgiris" stadium Live broadcast on Futbolo.TV V. Jančiauskas' forecast - 2:1.
The "Dainava" team, which has 12 points, is currently in fifth place. "Reo" with 6 points is in ninth place.
"A very evenly matched duel of opponents. "Reo" will play at the "Žalgiris" stadium, so it won't be easy for this team to adapt. "Dainava" has almost always trained on grass, so they will have an advantage," says V. Jančiauskas.
Vilnius resident called his city team "Reo" the underdog of the A league: "There is room for improvement. Despite the fact that "Reo" is represented by famous players in the past, they can't find their style. The team must prove that they are not inferior to the others."
According to V. Jančiauskas, "Dainava" showed during the first round that they are a mature and unpredictable team. They can beat anyone and lose to any team.
Over the weekend, the teams played differently. "Reo" finished 0:0 in a match against "Sūduva," while "Žalgiris" thrashed "Dainava" with a burst of goals - 0:4.
"I don't think that "Dainava" is weaker. "Žalgiris' fast counterattacks knocked the Alytus team out of rhythm. The Vilnius team played better and was more prepared. In the first round, it appears that they were the best prepared for the season," says V. Jančiauskas.
"Reo" after the draws should be in a good mood: "The draws add psychological strength. Nevertheless, it was a draw with not an ordinary team, but with "Sūduva".
In the first round, after scoring a quick goal, "Reo" was forced to equalize, but ultimately lost 2:3. Vilnius team's side goals were scored by Mindaugas Grigalevičius (2 min.) and Gajus Kulbis (60 min.), "Dainava's" - Arnas Mikaitis (7 min.), Valentinas Baranovskis (31 min.) and Arsenijus Buinickis (88 min.). The latter converted a controversial penalty kick.
Vilnius "Žalgiris" - Gargždai "Banga" Time - May 3, 19:00 Location - Lithuanian Football Federation stadium Live broadcast on Futbolo.TV V. Jančiauskas' forecast - 3:0.
"Žalgiris" (22 points) currently ranks second in the A league standings. "Banga" (8 points) with two consecutive wins is in sixth place.
"I haven't seen "Banga" play. Judging by the results, the Gargždai team can play successfully if "Žalgiris" doesn't try. The Vilnius team is a clear favorite. On the other hand, the ball is round," reasoned V. Jančiauskas.
In the opinion of the football specialist, "Žalgiris" is still looking for its game that would provide stability: "However, they are playing well even now. They are a strong opponent for the favorite "Ekranas"."
V. Jančiauskas thinks that "Banga," who has been playing in A League for several years, should show better results. The reason for the unsuccessful start of "Banga" after the exodus of several leaders from the team after the last season is that they dragged the team. "It must be assumed that the club has internal, perhaps financial problems," V. Jančiauskas was looking for reasons.
"Banga" beat the local footballers 2:1 in Šiauliai in the last round. Previously, Gargždai defeated "Tauras" 1:0.
"The minus of the Gargždai team is that they have been playing and training on artificial turf throughout the season. It is especially difficult during the heat. However, I believe that after the poor start in the past, the team has recovered. Gargždai have a lot of local boys playing well, the football school works well. Many pluses, so "Banga" should not disappear from the football map," hoped V. Jančiauskas, who worked in the Gargždai team two years ago.
In the first round match, "Žalgiris" defeated "Banga" after a difficult match in Gargdai. The winning goal was scored in the 86th minute by Calum Elliot. The first goal was scored by Mario Grgurovičius (35 min.). Gytis Gailius (38 min.) scored for "Banga".
