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After a productive 2-2 draw in the XXVIII round of the "General Financing A League" between the championship leader Panevezys "Ekranas" and Marijampole's "Suduva", the coaches stated during the press conference that the match was enjoyable for the spectators.
The strategist of the Panevezys team, speaking about missed goals, said that mistakes were to blame. Gaps opened in defense in order to push forward, and the opponents took advantage of these.
The head coach of FK "Ekranas", Valdas Urbonas, said: "Matches against 'Suduva' are always memorable. In the first half, we tried to play actively, controlled the ball. We did not convert the situations we had into goals, we did not capitalize on our advantage in the first half. 'Suduva' also did not score, Rafael Ledesma reminded us of himself.
"In the second half, we wanted to score goals quickly. We have to admit that 'Suduva' countered very well, took advantage of our mistakes that we made in the middle of the field. They have R. Ledesma, Povilas Luksys, players who turn half-chances into goals. Lately, we have had many matches where, when losing, we have to attack desperately to turn the situation around. It's good that we managed to turn the end of the match around. We put all efforts into equalizing the result. To achieve this, we needed a bit of calmness.
"Unfortunately, Marco failed to convert penalty kick. Maybe he could have scored from the rebound when the ball bounced next to the goal. The mood would have been better after the victory. The fourth round is just beginning. We need to look forward, prepare for the upcoming matches. The game and the attitude of the players left a good impression on me, it's just unfortunate that we couldn't convert the penalty kick."
"We concede goals, but this is not an exceptional statistical indicator. Every goal is a mistake. Today, as in other matches, there were clear mistakes that ended unsuccessfully. We made a big effort in attack and it reflected in defense when in counter attacks, opponents managed to break through with three or just two defenders," said Valdas Urbonas, the head coach of "Ekranas", during the press conference.
The head coach of FK "Suduva", Darius Gvildys, said: "The match was good, beautiful, and was supposed to be enjoyed by the spectators. I am satisfied with our team, but we have a problem when we need to maintain the result at the end of the match and keep our nerves cool. I think the match could have ended for the benefit of both us and 'Ekranas'. Our goalkeeper saved us at the end of the match.
"In summary - the guys lack confidence in themselves today. In crucial moments, the lack of mastery and calmness is revealed. But there is potential to move forward by changing some things. For example, in the face of fatigue, we needed to make accurate passes, when the score was level, we rushed into quick attacks, we needed to play a bit more accurately and calmly, the result would have been different again.
"During the break, I told the guys that today we can win. We prepared for two weeks, good movement, finishing attacks, we played well in defense in the first half. Our problem, which I emphasized to the players, is set pieces. Especially considering what 'Ekranas' has in their lineup: I. Dedur, A. Kucys, M. Samusiovas. Any of these players could have scored and unfortunately, I. Dedur did. Later, there was a fear to maintain the result, later the second goal was conceded, followed by a penalty kick. Well, the result is not bad for today, a 2-2 draw away against the champions is good, but we wanted a win.
"Regarding R. Ledesma, he has lost a lot of weight in the past month. A football player's career is not that long, and he is almost 30 years old. I told him that if he wants to delight Lithuanian fans with good play, he needs to improve his physical condition. He understands this perfectly and is showing the football that fans have been missing. I think his form can only improve, as now, you could say, he is climbing out of a hole," said D. Gvildys after the match.
