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In the Lithuanian A League championship on Saturday, only three matches were played, as the capital clubs "Vėtra" and "Žalgiris" could not play in the league due to Intertoto Cup first round matches. The leaders of the league, Klaipėda's "Atlantas," moved further away, while "Sūduva" secured the fourth place.
Defending champion "Kaunas," due to the renovation of Klaipėda stadium, played at home against "Atlantas" and convincingly defeated their opponents - A.Puotkalis and R.Beniušis scored two goals each in the first half, and R.Beniušis added another goal after the break. M.Piochas scored a consolation goal for the visitors at the end of the match.
The championship leader, Panevėžys's "Ekranas," achieved an easy victory by crushing absolute underdog Kėdainiai's "Nevėžis". P.Lukšys scored two goals for the leaders, while D.Saulėnas and M.Savėnas added one each. M.Savėnas now shares the top spot in the goal-scoring list with 9 goals along with R.Beniušis.
Marijampolė's "Sūduva" secured the fourth place by defeating "Šilutė" with a score of 4-1 at home. O.Braga scored in the 3rd minute to put the hosts ahead, and although N.Mačiulis equalized the score in the 26th minute, G.Grigas restored "Sūduva's" lead after half an hour, O.Braga added another goal shortly after, and D.Čigladze sealed the victory in the second half.
So, before the leaders' match, "Ekranas" continues to lead "Kaunas" by 8 points, while "Atlantas" trails the leaders by as many as 11 points and risks losing the third position to "Sūduva," who are behind by two points but have played fewer matches.
