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After two days following the LFF Cup final, sport journalist and commentator for www.futbolo.tv, Paulius Jakelis, shared his thoughts on the final, the teams, and the atmosphere at the stadium during the match on the radio station "Pulsas" in the show "FKE ritmu".
- Did you witness the cup final, were you at the stadium, in your opinion, who was closer to victory during both the main match time and overtime?
- The final was as expected, they are often not very beautiful. The teams did not risk attacking, did not want to give the opponents many spaces for counterattacks. According to the game, maybe "Ekranas" looked better, but the match was essentially equal. There were no surprises in the game of both teams. Andrius Skerla definitely replaced Algirdas Jankauskas very well and was the best in his team along with Armandas Vitkauskas. Speaking of Ramūnas Radavičius, he plays quite well in midfield, but Mantas Savėnas is a real "boss" there. Marko Andelkovič's injury also unbalanced the team. "Ekranas" was looking for their game, we saw Giedrius Tomkevičius playing as both a defender and a defensive midfielder, Uchenna Umeh was being rotated on the wings, Adama Fofana did not show good game, injuries unbalanced the team and it was harder to play.
- Would the losses of injured players be the main reason, in your opinion, for the failure of "Ekranas"?
- It is difficult to say whether "Ekranas" lost because of that. The team has players on the bench who can perform well after a substitution, but this had an impact on the final. That's a fact. The midfield play did not come together, the creative force was lacking. Also, there was a lack of Andrius Velička, because A. Fofana did not make a big impression. A. Velička was in good athletic shape, he was able to cling to the balls, while A. Fofana is a smaller player, more suited for quick play. It felt like in the final the game didn't come together for "Ekranas".
- Why couldn't experienced players convert penalty shots?
- Well, it's a strange, interesting coincidence that in the Champions League final, "Bayern" wore red kits, "Ekranas" did the same, and both teams did not win penalty shootouts. I agree with the opinion that penalty shootouts are a lottery, although I had read interesting articles in foreign press that goalkeepers analyze how opponents take penalties and predict the direction of the ball. But it's more about luck. "Ekranas" just lacked that luck, maybe "Žalgiris" wanted to win more, at least that's what they say about the winners. I would like to highlight and praise Emilijus Zubas, I liked his performance in the final, he did not allow opponents to think after set pieces about the possibility of scoring, or when Kalumas Eliotas shot from 8-10 meters he reacted perfectly and saved the ball, eventually repelled one penalty shot. He played very well, it's a pity he did not win.
- This Friday these teams will meet again in the A league championship, what kind of match can we expect?
- Most likely I will have to commentate on these matches myself, I think it will be a completely different fight than in the cup final. The teams will no longer have to play such defensive football as they did on Sunday. It was evident that both "Žalgiris" and "Ekranas" did not want to risk much and move forward, the cost of mistakes was huge. League matches should be different. "Ekranas" will want to seek revenge. Another thing, the match will take place at the football federation stadium, where "Žalgiris" feels like hosts. I have seen almost all "Žalgiris" matches there, they play much better than in any other stadium in away matches. The specific surface, the trajectory of the ball when making passes, constantly changes. Other teams are not used to that, but they are. It's a big advantage for them. "Žalgiris" plays better at home, but "Ekranas" will have a huge sporting anger and will not want to leave the field with their heads down for the second time. Very interesting matches await.
- How would you describe the atmosphere at the stadium during the final?
- Well, I was surprised by the "Žalgiris" fans, there were a lot of them. They supported their team well, on the other hand, I heard them better because they were located in the opposite stand. "Ekranas" fans were on the same side as me, so their noise spread to the other side. I had to get closer to them and I saw that their support was loud enough, and the visual effects were impressive too. Perhaps "Žalgiris" won the fan battle on Sunday. In any case, the atmosphere was fantastic, it could be compared to Poland. In Lithuania, this is rarely felt.
Another observation: "Ekranas" did not come to receive the awards for second place, and I do not blame them for that. As I understood, the position of "Ekranas" players was: "we will go to receive the awards if the 'Žalgiris' fans leave the field". Going to receive the awards when there are almost 200 opposing team fans around is a bit risky, anything can happen. Especially when some chants about "Ekranas" were not the nicest. I understand them, they decided to stay in the dressing room.
