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"SMScredit.lt A League" XX round match Vilnius city football club "Žalgiris" team won Klaipėda "Atlantas" with a score of 1:0 (0:0)
In the match of the XX round held at the LFF stadium in the capital on Saturday, debutant forward Andrius Velička scored the winning goal for the Žalgiris team in the 74th minute as the match was approaching its end.
The Vilnius team, which won its 17th victory, started the match with dangerous attacks, with Kamilis Bilinskis and Egidijus Vaitkūnas often at the center of the action, sending accurate passes from the flanks to the penalty area.
Although it was difficult for the defenders of Atlantas to stop the hosts' attacks, the guests managed to avoid any major troubles until halftime.
Žalgiris had the best opportunity to turn the course of the match in their favor in the 52nd minute. Andro Švrljuga was fouled in the penalty area, and the referee promptly awarded a penalty kick, but Pavel Komolov failed to convert it.
Atlantas had a stroke of luck again in the 67th minute when Algis Jankauskas took a shot at the goalkeeper's empty goal, but the Klaipėda team was saved from a goal by the timely and well-positioned defender Kazmieras Gnedojus.
In the 71st minute, the guests came very close to scoring. Marius Papšys shook the crossbar of the Žalgiris goal with a penalty kick, and the Atlantas players who rushed to the rebound missed another chance to score.
The goal drought was finally broken by the forward Andrius Velička, who appeared on the field after a substitution. In a counterattack situation, the player took advantage of the goalkeeper's mistake and cold-bloodedly sent the ball into the net.
At the end of the match, Atlantas, who launched a decisive assault, had several times the hope of equalizing the score. Initially, a mistake near their own goal almost costed the ball to A. Jankauskas, and later Luka Peričius intercepted a very dangerous shot by Andrius Urbšys that could have ended in a goal.
Thanks to their great efforts, the players of the Žalgiris team (44 points) won the very important three points, not only guaranteeing the position of the sole leader in the league table, but also allowing them to pull away from the closest pursuers Klaipėda "Atlantas" (38 points) and Panevėžys "Ekrantas" (38 points).
VMFD "Žalgiris" 1 - 0 Klaipėda "Atlantas"
74' [1 - 0] A. Velička
Yellow cards: Artūras Žulpa (33 min.); Andrius Urbšys (45 min), Gediminas Kruša (90 min).
VMFD "Žalgiris" lineup: Armantas Vitkauskas, Algis Jankauskas, Luka Peričius, Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Artūras Žulpa, Ramūnas Radavičius (65' Rytis Leliūga), Pavelas Komolovas (61' Andrius Velička), Mantas Kuklys, Andro Švrljuga, Kamilis Bilinskis (85' Paulius Janušauskas).
Klaipėda "Atlantas" lineup: Mantas Galdikas, Marius Kazlauskas, Gerardas Žukauskas, Andrius Urbšys, Marius Papšys, Tadas Eliošius, Markas Beneta, Donatas Navikas (73' Gediminas Kruša), Kazimieras Gnedojus, Lukas Baranauskas (24' Valdas Trakys), Donatas Kazlauskas.
League table:
