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VMFD "Žalgiris" team defeated Gargždai "Banga" with a score of 2:0 at their home stadium, ending a streak of more than two months without a win for the visitors.
On Friday evening in the capital, at the LFF stadium, the 28th round of the "General Financing A League" took place, where the home team Vilnius City Football Club "Žalgiris" faced Gargždai "Banga".
From the very first moments of the match, the Žalgiris players took the lead as early as the 2nd minute, after Calum Elliot successfully converted a penalty kick. Before that, Ramūnas Radavičius was fouled in the penalty area.
After unexpectedly conceding the first goal quickly, the Gargždai players tried to respond, launching many attacks, but without success.
In turn, the home team had no intention of slowing down.
In the 10th minute, Pavel Komolovas had a chance to double Vilnius' lead with a headed shot, but "Banga" goalkeeper Vitalii Myrnyi played reliably.
Shortly after, in the 12th minute, Luka Peričius had a similar opportunity to score, but he also couldn't find the back of the net.
After a thunderous start by the Žalgiris players, the pace of the match decreased. The hosts continued to control the ball more, attacking more often, but not as dangerously.
As the first half progressed, the players played more aggressively, receiving yellow cards, and in one episode after a contact with Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Evaldas Grigaitis had to leave the field injured and was taken to the hospital.
Just before the break, the visitors became more active, but they couldn't pose a major threat to the Žalgiris goal.
At the beginning of the second half, the initiative firmly shifted to the capital team.
The Žalgiris players had several chances to score against the opponents' goal. Initially, the Gargždai goalkeeper saved Luka Peričius's shot with his fingertips, and later he defended twice against Calum Elliot's raids into the penalty area.
After more than an hour of play, the guests managed to stabilize their game. Žalgiris had to defend longer, stop the opponents' attacks, which often ended with long, inaccurate shots.
Eventually, Lithuania's vice-champions patiently waited for their chance and it came as the match approached its end. Kamilis Bilinskis scored with a powerful shot in the 86th minute past the "Banga" goalkeeper.
After coming on as a substitute, the forward could have scored again soon, but he couldn't control the ball in the penalty area and his shot was weak.
VMFD "Žalgiris" secured their 19th victory in the championship, bringing their total points to 63, placing them second in the standings. The same number of points is held by Panevėžys "Ekranas".
Experiencing their first defeat in the A League since the end of June, "Banga" remained in sixth place with 34 points.
VMFD "Žalgiris" 2:0 (1:0) Gargždai "Banga"
Goals: Calum Elliot (2 min.); Kamilis Bilinskis (86 min.)
Yellow cards: Vaidotas Šilėnas (33 min.), Egidijus Vaitkūnas (35 min.), Luka Peričius (57 min.); Žilvinas Banys (44 min.)
