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After the crushing victories achieved on Saturday in the first rounds of the traditional Unity Cup tournament taking place in Moscow, on Sunday the Lithuanian vice-champion FBK "Kaunas" experienced their first defeat. The Kaunas team had to admit the superiority of the Russian youth (U-19) team with a score of 1-0, but fortunately this loss did not affect their standing.
Russia U-19 1 - 0
36' [1 - 0] Oleg Samsonov
"Kaunas" lineup: Š.Kilijonas; I.Zelmikas, A.Khubutia, M.Pacevičius, G.Vičius; G.Barevičius, A.Kšanavičius, E.Poderis, V.Zubavičius; L.Pilibaitis, A.Rimkevičius.
After the excellent victory against the champions of Armenia, "Kaunas" fans hoped that the Lithuanian team would achieve a victory while playing against the Russian youth team, which had suffered a 0-3 defeat to the Belarusian team "Shakhtyor" from Soligorsk on Saturday.
However, the coach of the team, Eduardas Malofejevas, decided to experiment in the match against the non-competitive Russians, and the hosts were the first to break through towards goal. In the 36th minute, a long-range shot by Oleg Samsonov from Russia rebounded off the "Kaunas" defenders and passed through Šarūnas Kilijonas into the Kaunas goal.
In the second half, with the result unchanged, the Kaunas coach took the opportunity to change more than three players and sent all the substitutes onto the field. Despite the change in the lineup, the Lithuanian team showed more energy, but it was not enough to alter the course of the game, which ended with a score of 1-0.
Nevertheless, the defeat against the unbeatable Russian team did not affect the tournament standings. In the next match of this group, Yerevan's "Pyunik" defeated Soligorsk's "Shakhtyor" by a score of 2-0, allowing the Kaunas team to remain the leader of their group.
On Tuesday, "Kaunas" will face "Shakhtyor", but this match should not have much significance, as a defeat by a goal difference of 5 would force the Lithuanian team to withdraw from the tournament, while a loss by 3 goals would push the team into second place in the group.
