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The A League XXIII round match between the championship leaders Panevėžio "Ekrano" and VMFD "Žalgiris" teams ended in a draw 0:0.
On Sunday, at Panevėžys "Aukštaitijos" stadium, the "General Financing A League" XXIII round match was played, where the local "Ekranas" and Vilnius football team "Žalgiris" fought for the championship title.
The eleven players, who had many opportunities, failed to send the ball into the goal, which often shook after powerful strikes by the footballers.
From the very beginning of the match, both teams launched attacks. The hosts of the field were the first to launch their attacks, and after a few minutes, the players from Žalgiris responded with even more dangerous, sharp raids.
In the 7th minute, "Žalgiris" goalkeeper Vaidotas Šilėnas already had the first opportunity to score after a mistake by the goalkeeper in the penalty area, but the Panevėžys team managed to avoid trouble.
Playing actively on the left side of the field, the guests' forward Kamilis Bilinskis successfully distributed passes to his teammates, who had opportunities to strike the ball from good positions.
After the wave of attacks from Žalgiris, the Ekranas team, after the midpoint of the first half, took control of the ball themselves and launched an assault on their opponents' goal. One after another, the hosts of the field performed several dangerous strikes.
In the 28th minute, the Žalgiris team was saved from a goal only by the goalpost. After Žilvinas Kymantas' strike, Marko Andelkovičius, who hurried to the ball, did not take advantage of a very grateful opportunity to lead his team forward.
After this episode, the pace of the match decreased, and dangerous attacks were replaced by long, inaccurate shots.
In the 39th minute, the Žalgiris goalkeeper Mantas Kuklys disturbed the tranquility when his strongly kicked ball hit the crossbar.
At the end of the first half, the teams were more noted for rough fouls and received yellow cards than for dangerous moments.
The second half started with a lightning-fast attack by Ekranas, in the midst of which the forward Egidijus Varnas ended up. He was stopped only in time by the Vilnius goalkeeper Armantas Vitkauskas rushing out of the goal.
Soon, the Žalgiris goalkeeper Paulius Janušauskas also had a good chance to score, but he failed to direct the ball into the goal with a head strike.
In the 60th minute, after a substitution on the field, Andro Švrljuga had a hundred percent chance to score the first goal, but the ball, struck from close range, hit the crossbar once again.
Later events unfolded similarly to the first part of the match. Long-lasting positional attacks were replaced by fast, dangerous strikes.
At the end of the match, the Žalgiris players showed a greater desire to win. For more than ten minutes, the players from the capital did not allow the opponents to catch their breath for a moment, especially goalkeeper Emilijus Zubas. The "Žalgiris" players, attack after attack, tried their best to turn the result in their favor, but they did not manage to break through the Ekranas defense and goalkeeping.
Panevėžys "Ekranas" 0 - 0 VMFD "Žalgiris"
Cards: Ignas Dedura (31 min.), Aurimas Kučys (36 min.), Egidijus Varnas (44 min.), Vytautas Lukša (81 min.); Ramūnas Radavičius (46 min.), Algis Jankauskas (72 min.)
Teams' lineups
Panevėžio "Ekranas": Emilijus Zubas, Yanis Urdinovas (Dainius Gleveckas 82 min.), Mantas Samusiovas, Ignas Dedura, Vytautas Lukša. Aurimas Kučys, Marko Andelkovič, Arsenijus Buinickis (Uchenna Umeh 74 min.), Aurimas Vertelis, Egidijus Varnas, Žilvinas Kymantas (Vitalijus Kavaliauskas 61 min.).
VMFD "Žalgiris": Starting lineup: Armantas Vitkauskas, Algis Jankauskas, Andrius Skerla, Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Georgas Freidgeimas, Mantas Kuklys (Andrejus Nagumanovas 80 min.), Paulius Janušauskas, Ramūnas Radavičius, Vaidotas Šilėnas (Andro Švrljuga 60 min.), Kamilis Bilinskis, Calumas Elliotas (Pavelas Komolovas 85 min.).
