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After a ten-year break, the Lithuanian Football Federation Super Cup travels to Vilnius. On Saturday, in the opening match of the 2013 club football season, Vilnius "Žalgiris" defeated Panevėžys "Ekranas" 1-0 after a fierce battle and extra time. The winning goal was scored by Mantas Kuklys in the 102nd minute.
Cautious first half
In the starting lineup of "Žalgiris," the only newcomer was goalkeeper Rytis Leliūga, while in the ranks of "Ekranas," defenders Oscar Reyes, Vaidas Slavickas, and goalkeeper Donatas Petrauskas made their official debut in the match. The first dangerous attack was made by "Ekranas." After a long-range shot by Uchenna Umeh, the ball had to be deflected by "Žalgiris" goalkeeper Aivaras Bražinskas. Soon after, Andro Švrljuga threatened with a similar long-range shot, this time saved by "Ekranas" goalkeeper Tadas Kauneckas.
The best chance in the first half belonged to "Ekranas" - in the 19th minute, after a pass from Aurimas Vertelis from the side, Arsenijus Buinickis headed the ball unmarked, but it flew just wide of the goal. Until halftime, the teams rarely managed to break through each other's defense.
Žalgiris's attacking opportunity
In the 63rd minute, "Ekranas" almost conceded a goal to their rivals. After a pass from Vaidas Slavickas, Kamilis Bilinskis took the ball with his head. The forward from Poland tried to deceive T. Kauneckas, but the goalkeeper managed to push the ball away from the opponent's feet.
At the end of regular time, the Vilnius team played more actively in attack. However, K. Bilinskis's shot from the side was inaccurate, and near the goal, Mantas Kuklys took a shot from the edge of the penalty area. As the regular time ended in a 0-0 tie, the teams had to play extra time - just like last year in the LFF Cup final in Marijampolė.
Decisive goal by M. Kuklys
At the beginning of extra time, "Žalgiris" forward from Croatia, Vedranas Gercas, took a dangerous shot near the goal. In the 102nd minute, the Vilnius team broke through. One of Mantas Kuklys's shots from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by defenders, but after the second attempt, the ball slightly touched Giedrius Tomkevičius's back and went into the goal.
A few minutes later, "Ekranas" almost equalized - A. Bražinskas repelled Egidijaus Varno's shot from close range. Later, "Žalgiris" had several chances to increase the lead, but K. Bilinskis hit the crossbar once and missed just wide of the goal another time. In the final moments of the match, "Ekranas" missed several attempts to shoot from inside the penalty area. "Žalgiris" triumphed and won the Super Cup after a ten-year break.
Match statistics
Panevėžys "Ekranas" - Vilnius MFD "Žalgiris" 0-1 (after extra time, regular time 0-0) Marijampolė "ARVI" arena, 2100 spectators Referee - Gediminas Mažeika (Kaunas), Assistants - Vytautas Šimkus, Saulius Karka (Kaunas) Goal: 102 min. Mantas Kuklys ("Žalgiris"). Yellow cards: 45 min. Vaidotas Šilėnas ("Žalgiris"), 49 min. Rytis Pilotas ("Ekranas"). After the match, Aurimas Kučys and Tadas Markevičius ("Ekranas") were sent off.
Players:
"Ekranas": Tadas Kauneckas, Vaidas Slavickas, Giedrius Tomkevičius, Oscar Reyes, Rytis Pilotas (91 min. Edvinas Girdvainis), Aurimas Vertelis (75 min. Tadas Markevičius), Uchenna Umeh (78 min. Igors Kozlovs), Aurimas Kučys, Donatas Petrauskas (62 min. Dovydas Norvilas), Vitalijus Kavaliauskas, Arsenij Buinickij (66 min. Egidijus Varnas). Substitutes: Kornelijus Timofejevas, Rokas Stanulevičius.
"Žalgiris": Aivaras Bražinskas, Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Algis Jankauskas, Luka Perič, Georgas Freidgeimas, Vaidotas Šilėnas (80 min. Vedran Gerc), Paulius Janušauskas (68 min. Mantas Kuklys), Pavel Komolov (101 min. Takuya Kanai), Rytis Leliūga (46 min. Ramūnas Radavičius), Andro Švrljuga (46 min. Jakub Wilk), Kamil Bilinski. Substitutes: Ignas Plūkas, Andrius Skerla.
