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Today in Palanga were played the last matches of the LFF Cup round of 16 - an intriguing duel between last season's "A Lyga" outsider "Vilnius" and "I Lyga" winner "Šiauliai" club.
After a tough and intense battle, "Šiauliai" won 1-0. Since the first match ended in a 1-1 draw, the narrow victory for the Šiauliai club opened the way to the quarterfinals of the cup.
In the 49th minute, Marekas Krukovskij scored the first and as it turned out, the only goal of the match with a long shot from outside the box.
In the next stage, "Šiauliai" will face the current cup holder FBK "Kaunas" club. The first quarterfinal matches will be played on April 3, and the second ones - on April 8.
All quarterfinal pairings: "Šilutė" - Panevėžio "Ekranas" "Kaunas" - "Šiauliai" Vilnius "Vėtra" - Marijampolės "Sūduva" Vilnius "Žalgiris" - Klaipėdos "Atlantas"
Due to the prolonged winter conditions, the matches in Šiauliai took place in Palanga. Both teams started the game actively, and in the 6th minute, the referee from Telšiai, Antanas Rubys, had to calm the emotions showing a yellow card to Denis Vasilkovas of "Šiauliai".
In the second half, the initiative was still with "Šiauliai" who managed to solidify their advantage - in the 49th minute, Marekas Krukovskij's long shot from about 20 meters beat the "Vilnius" goalkeeper Maciejus Kijiwski. Despite their efforts, "Vilnius" failed to score more goals, and "Šiauliai" successfully defended to secure their place in the cup quarterfinals.
After the match, "Šiauliai" coach Vytas Jančiauskas was in a good mood and praised his players, saying the game was tense, but they managed to execute the chosen tactic effectively.
Squads: "Šiauliai": Žutautas; Tučinskij, Oriol, Lunskis, Juodeikis; Smilginas (84 min. Balčiūnas), Krukovskij, Biečius (77 min. Daniličevas), Šidlauskas(67 min. Butavičius); Vasilkov, Siciūnas (90+1 min. Atigbiolaye). Substitutes: Arlauskas, Balčiūnas, Rukas, Butavičius, Atigbiolaye, Daniličevas, Buivydavičius.
"Vilnius": Kijiwski; Artiomovas, Puodžiūnas, Sokolovas, Žarnovskis; Barbosa (60 min. Katsitadzė), Panka, Rudavičius, Brazauskas (71 min. Lukša); Astrauskas, Bakalag (46 min. Buinickij). Substitutes: Buinickij, Semež, Jalminas, Lukša, Katsitadzė, Mininkovas, Jeršovas.
