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On Saturday at home in Panevėžys, the last match of the first round of the A League was played against Šiauliai "Šiauliai". FK "Ekranas" won its 9th victory in 9 possible championship games in front of 1258 spectators.
The only goal was scored by "Ekranas" forward Vitalijus Kavaliauskas in the 29th minute of the match. The Panevėžys team finished the first round with 27 points. Before the start of the match, at the stadium, FK "Ekranas" greeted the oldest coach of "Šiauliai", Vytas Jančiauskas, on his 50th birthday.
During the post-match press conference, the coach of the "Šiauliai" team sincerely thanked the Panevėžys community, the football club, and the leaders of the Panevėžys County Football Federation for the unexpected surprise.
"I did not expect such a surprise. It was very unexpected and truly pleasant," said V. Jančiauskas. Wishing "Ekranas" to continue their winning streak and remain the flagship of Lithuanian football, the head coach of "Šiauliai" praised his team's players.
"The only game I was disappointed with the team's performance was against FBK "Kaunas". All other matches, including today's match against "Ekranas", were played well. We still lack luck. We need a little more skill. We have many new, inexperienced players in the team, but we are rapidly improving. Psychologically, it will be even better for us when we start playing at our stadium. We hope that our builders will not let us down."
The head coach of "Ekranas", Virginijus Liubšys, emphasized that he was sincerely glad that such an experienced football specialist as Vytas Jančiauskas returned to the Lithuanian football trainers' family. V. Liubšys also spoke highly of the "Šiauliai" team.
"I really liked the "Šiauliai" team. Many players who were practically unseen last year in capital city clubs were like ghosts, and now in "Šiauliai" they have gained new colors. Their physical strength is very strong. You can feel that they worked purposefully and professionally in this direction. Today they gave us a serious fight, did not give freedom, they were "fighting". It's really that team, that opponent, that fights till the very end. I may not be overly impressed with our team's performance. I think we fell out of rhythm. A week of rest, perhaps, is too much, and serious preparation was hindered by the rain, as the whole field was flooded. We lacked freshness in the second half, and overall, the second half was significantly weaker. What can you do? It's not always going to be as you want. It's nice that we finished the first round with the 9th victory. Winning three important points."
On Tuesday, May 17 at 6 p.m., FK "Ekranas" will host Klaipėda "Atlantas" at home. The postponed 23rd round matches will be played.
