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In the league, the leading team "Ekranas" from Panevėžys met "Kaunas" at home - a victory at home would have allowed V. Liubšys' team to pull away from their rivals for good, while the Kaunas team tried to revive their hopes of fighting for the title.
Right at the beginning of the match, the hosts had a chance to take the lead, but M. Savėnas' penalty shot was saved by the goalkeeper E. Kurskis, and later "Ekranas" newcomer T. Kavolis also had a chance to score, but the Kaunas goalkeeper once again played successfully.
The visitors responded with an attempt by T. Papečkys to score from a penalty kick, and towards the end of the first half, a header from P. Lukšys missed the goal, and A. Klimavičius also failed to score. The first half ended with a 0-0 score.
The second half started more actively for "Kaunas", but despite their initiative, the visitors were unable to create more dangerous opportunities. In the 69th minute, L. Pilibaitis, who came on as a substitute, came close to scoring, but the ball flew wide of the goal, and at the end of the match, M. Gardzijauskas and T. Papečkys also missed their chances.
Both teams were unable to score, so the match ended in a draw, maintaining "Ekranas" with a thirteen-point advantage over "Kaunas", although they have played more matches. With only 10 rounds left in the championship, Panevėžys would need seven wins to secure the title.
In other matches of the day, "Žalgiris" in Vilnius fought with "Vilnius" in the capital's derby, and although both teams had opportunities to score, the match also ended goalless. In Marijampolė, "Sūduva" hosted Vilnius' "Vėtra" and failed to take advantage of the opportunity to close in on the third-placed opponents - the visitors took the lead in the 14th minute through N. Sasnauskas, but D. Maciulevičius equalized in the 55th minute.
In Klaipėda, two teams in a playing crisis met - local "Atlantas" and "Šiauliai". The hosts celebrated victory with a two-goal margin, with A. Laurišas and M. Bezykornovas scoring the goals. "Šilutė" also secured three points, winning away against Kėdainiai "Nevėžis". The hosts took the lead after an M. Činikas goal from the penalty spot, but G. Juška responded with a penalty kick, M. Grigalevičius scored, and G. Podelis sealed the victory for the visitors in the last minute.
League standings
Results of the 26th round
Goalless draw
Goalless draw
1 - 1 14' [0 - 1] Nerijus Sasnauskas 55' [1 - 1] Darius Maciulevičius
2 - 0 8' [1 - 0] Aivaras Laurišas 26' [2 - 0] Marius Bezykornovas
Amaro Atigbiolaye sent off from the field in the 40th minute ("Šiauliai")
1 - 3 16' [1 - 0] Marius Činikas (penalty) 30' [1 - 1] Gvidas Juška (penalty) 37' [1 - 2] Mindaugas Grigalevičius 90' [1 - 3] Gintas Podelis
