© EuroFootball.com
Today in the NFKA "A Lyga" 18th round matches, several quite unexpected results were recorded: the championship leaders in Šiauliai had to settle for a draw with the team in ninth place "Šiauliai", while "Vilnius" defeated V. Lekevičius' Klaipėda team "Atlantas" 1-0 in Marijampolė.
In front of 1500 spectators in Šiauliai, a very intense match took place. The fact that the people of Šiauliai did not intend to be just "cannon fodder" for Panevėžys was shown by the tactical scheme chosen by "Šiauliai" strategist V. Jančiauskas, 4-4-2. Both teams exchanged dangerous attacks from the beginning of the match.
In the 26th minute, after a mistake by "Šiauliai's" Kameroonian legionnaire Amaro Atigbiolaye, "Ekrano's" goalkeeper Mantas Savėnas crossed the ball freely and Vitalijus Kavaliauskas, left unmarked, stopped the ball and sent it towards V. Žutautas' goal. In the 39th minute, "Šiauliai" defender Darius Rukas surprised everyone with a long shot from about 25 meters, defeating "Ekrano's" goalkeeper.
Just at the beginning of the second half, after a mistake by Šiauliai's goalkeeper V. Žutautas, Lithuanian national team member Gediminas Paulauskas once again led the championship leaders forward with a close-range shot. However, with just over 10 minutes left in the match, Marekas Krukovskis successfully converted a penalty earned by G. Butavičius. His strong shot bounced off the crossbar and crossed the goal line.
After the match, "Ekrano," for whom it was the third time losing points, the strategist Virginijus Liubšys was clearly upset: "I believe that today the draw was undeserved, because we had several excellent moments (Gardzijauskas, Kavaliauskas), which we did not exploit. Besides, we controlled the game with a 2-1 score. "Šiauliai" fought and believed until the end. Fortune, of course, was not on our side today."
To the opinion of his colleague that "Šiauliai" did not deserve a draw, "Šiauliai" strategist Vytas Jančiauskas completely disagreed: "We all watched the match."
"These matches should please the spectators both in terms of the result and the game. Indeed, good matches came out," said the "Šiauliai" strategist.
Asked if the team plans to strengthen during the transfer window, V. Jančiauskas said that he would like to strengthen the defensive line and acquire another forward, but immediately added that everything depends on the team's budget.
By the way, in this match, Egidijus Varnas was already sitting on the bench for "Šiauliai," but he did not appear on the field. The coach did not want to comment on this player, motivated by the fact that he has spent too little time with the team. As "EuroFootball.com" reported, there is a contract with E. Varnas until the end of the season.
"A Lyga" 18th round results
Vilnius "Vėtra" 1 - 0 "Šilutė" Klaipėda "Atlantas" 0 - 1 "Vilnius" "Šiauliai" 2 - 2 Panevėžys "Ekranas" "FBK Kaunas" 5 - 0 Kėdainiai "Nevėžis"
The matches between Vilnius "Žalgiris" and Marijampolė "Sūduva" have been postponed, as "Žalgiris" plays the first round of the Intertoto Cup against "Dinaburg" from Latvia tomorrow.
