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Country's champion was defeated at his own stadium, Klaipėda's "Atlantas" only managed to beat the outsider after a fierce battle, while Marijampolė's "Sūduva" for the first time in almost two years defeated Pakruojis "Kruoja". These are the main events of the 15th round of the "SMScredit.lt A League".
Apologies. They were expressed to the club's fans by Panevėžys "Ekranas" footballers coach Valdas Dambrauskas after the principled defeat of 0:3 at home to their rivals Vilnius "Žalgiris". "I really hope we lost the battle today, but the war is still ongoing," added the champions' coach.
Tactics. Panevėžys started the match with five defenders, but it quickly became clear that the crowded defense was as leaky as a sieve. "Ekranas" strategists had to make a substitution and adjust their playing scheme already in the first half. "We didn’t follow any of the coaches' instructions. Player injuries are not an excuse: the team has more than ten or twelve footballers. If you are in "Ekranas," it means you are worthy to be there," the poor mood was not hidden by Giedrius Tomkevičius, the captain of the Panevėžys team during the match.
Injuries. Before the match against "Žalgiris," the list of injured "Ekranas" players was supplemented by defender Donatas Petrauskas.
Series. Kamilis Bilinskis scored in the sixth consecutive match. However, in the previous round's clash with Alytus "Dainava," his name did not appear on the scoresheet, but it wasn't even there at all - coach Marekas Zubas decided to protect his sniper from the fourth yellow card before the match against "Ekranas," and at the same time - from disqualification. The accurate strike by "Žalgiris" forward was already his tenth in this championship. K.Bilinskis is only one goal behind the leader Evaldas Razulis from Klaipėda's "Atlantas" in the "SMScredit.lt A League" top scorers list.
Behind the curtain. Still not recovered from the injury, E.Razulis did not play in Alytus against "Dainava." The people from Klaipėda managed to win even without him. Although they conceded first, "Atlantas" equalized the score before the break, and the victory for the team occupying the second place in the championship was brought by Alytus defender Deividas Padaigis' own goal - the port city footballers won 2:1.
Debut. "Dainava" was led by coach Darius Urbelionis for the first time. The Kaunas native, who replaced Gediminas Jarmalavičius at the team's helm, said that the main goal now is to improve the game. It must be admitted that the team from Dzūkija played better this time than in several previous "SMScredit.lt A League" matches.
At last. June 24, 2011. Until last Saturday, it was the day when "Sūduva" last defeated "Kruoja" in the country's championship. After that, the Pakruojis team won four out of six matches and played twice with a draw. Officially: the curse is lifted. "Sūduva" won in Pakruojis 2:0 and forced "Kruoja" coach Aidas Dambrauskas to state: "We played one of the worst matches of the season."
Without the coach. "Šiauliai" also ended a series of failures, although not as impressive, as they had not won in five consecutive "SMScredit.lt A League" matches before and lost to "Žalgiris" in the LFF Cup final. The people from Šiauliai defeated "Tauras" 2:0 in Tauragė. The guests were not hindered by the fact that the coach Tomas Kančelskis, disqualified for two matches, could not sit on the bench. On the other hand, Kančelskis remained at the team's helm - the senior strategist’s brother, club director Deivis Kančelskis, led the footballers from the bench.
Opportunities. "I have told the players more than once that we can lose by any result. No matter how much, what matters is how. This time everything was not bad," - after a longer break, "Tauras" coach Aliaksandras Brazevičius found an opportunity to praise his team. The people from Tauragė fought commendably this time and managed to create at least three hundred percent chances.
