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"Atlantas" from Klaipėda secured their third consecutive victory in the A League. The coastal city club easily defeated Alytus "Dainava" 4-1 (1-0) in their home field in the XXIV round. Evaldas Razulis, who scored twice, climbed to the first place in the snipers classification. He now has 16 goals to his name.
Although the hosts besieged the "Dainava" goal from the first minutes, the visitors defended reliably and Vitalijus Artjomenko had little work to do. Tadas Eliošius and Marius Papšys had dangerous but inaccurate shots on goal. The visitors chose a counterattacking tactic and rarely moved into "Atlantas'" half.
The "Dainava" defense made its first mistake in the 23rd minute. Donatas Kazlauskas broke into the penalty area on the left flank and sent the ball into the net, putting the people of Klaipėda ahead. Until the end of the first half, the game scenario did not change: "Atlantas" attacked while "Dainava" defended diligently.
Unhappy with the course of the match, "Dainava's" coach Darius Urbelionis made two immediate changes to the team during the break, but couldn't change the game. The people of Alytus especially struggled to defend against the onslaught from the right flank by Marius Papšys.
It was E.Razulis who doubled "Atlantas'" lead in the 67th minute by heading in a pass from the right wing. Just four minutes later, the match was completely settled when the debutant of the team, Ernestas Veliulis, also took his chance and scored from a few meters after a pass from M.Papšys.
For the assembled spectators, there was only one unanswered question - could E.Razulis become the sole leader of the sniper classification. The forward answered this question himself, scoring his second and the team's fourth goal in the 82nd minute with a header after another perfect pass from M.Papšys.
After four minutes, taking advantage of "Atlantas'" relaxation in defense and confusion in the penalty area, "Dainava" scored a consolation goal through a substitute Teisis Leskauskas.
At the end of the half, E.Razulis had a great opportunity to score his third goal, but V.Artjomenko demonstrated a great reaction, saving the striker's header with a jump.
