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In the Lithuanian Football Championship "A League," the fourth round began on Sunday. The first day of matches featured clubs that had not yet won in the championship - the surprising "Vėtra," which played two draws, and the former last season's underdog "Nevėžis," which also experienced two defeats. The victory with a score of 2-0 was achieved by "Vėtra" in their home game.
2 - 0
28` [1 - 0] Sergej Kuznecov
55` [2 - 0] Sergej Kuznecov
"Vėtra": V.Žutautas; Raliukonis, Žudys, A.Jankauskas; Preikšaitis, Vencevičius, Milošeski (60` Vaineikis), Božinovskij; Kochanauskas (46` Vėževičius), Dančenko (62` Blažys), Kuznecov
"Nevėžis": Jazokas; Dobilas (70` Rokas), Rimavičius, Juknevičius, Slepakovas; Kestenis, Mykolaitis, Smilginas (53` Macianskis), Bezykornovas; Venckus, V.Stankevičius (84` D.Adomaitis)
Seeking their first victory, "Vėtra" started the match with an attacking lineup - striker Vidas Dančenko made his debut in the main lineup of "Vėtra," playing upfront alongside Andrius Kochanauskas and Sergej Kuznecov.
The first danger came at the visitors' goal. In the 13th minute after a corner kick in the "Nevėžis" penalty area, there was a commotion, but unfortunately "Vėtra" failed to take advantage of it. The residents of Kėdainiai responded with a quick counterattack, after which forward Deivydas Venckus jumped in front of the goalkeeper and hit the post.
Later, "Vėtra" attacks poured in - in the 17th minute, Andrius Kochanauskas received a long pass into the penalty area, but his tough fight with the opponents' defender prevented the "Vėtra" midfielder from striking too hard, as the goalkeeper caught the ball. In the 18th minute, Dejan Milošeskis sent the ball into the penalty area for a shot, but Sergej Kuznecov's header missed the target.
In the 22nd minute, the "Vėtra" players executed an excellent combination - many accurate passes in the middle of the field and Bobis Božinovskis found himself with the ball near the corner of the penalty area. Although the Macedonian's shot to the far bottom corner was very precise, the "Nevėžis" team was saved from the goal by the excellent performance of the goalkeeper Tautvydas Jazokas. The breakthrough for "Vėtra" came in the 28th minute - after a pass from the edge of the field, Sergej Kuznecov headed the ball into the goal. "Vėtra" moved ahead 1-0. The first half ended with the minimal advantage of "Vėtra."
At the start of the second half, "Vėtra" pressed the opponents. In the 51st minute, Aidas Preikšaitis's long-range shot from 20 meters shook the "Nevėžis" goal - the ball hit the post. In the 52nd minute, Dejan Milošeskis intercepted the ball from the opponents and jumped in front of the goalkeeper, but the "Nevėžis" goalkeeper rushed out of the penalty area to seize the ball and neutralize the danger.
Soon, the "Vėtra" players increased their lead. After Bobis Božinovskis' pass from the edge of the field, Sergej Kuznecov bypassed the visitors' defenders and scored the second goal from close range - in the 58th minute, "Vėtra" led 2-0. The hosts' attacks did not end there - in the 61st minute after a pass from Donatas Vencevičius, Sergej Kuznecov had another chance to score, but the Ukrainian's header was off target.
In the 68th minute, the score could have been decisive. Bobis Božinovskis, who had entered the penalty area, was illegally stopped by defenders, and the referee awarded a penalty kick from 11 meters. Sergej Kuznecov took it, but the "hat-trick" attempt was unsuccessful for the "Vėtra" forward - the "Nevėžis" goalkeeper guessed where Kuznecov would shoot and managed to save the eleven-meter penalty.
Until the final whistle of the match, "Vėtra" players had the initiative and could have increased their lead, but they did not score more goals. Vilnius' "Vėtra" defeated Kėdainiai's "Nevėžis" with a score of 2-0 and secured their first victory in this year's "A League" championship.
After the match, "Vėtra" coach Edgaras Gessas was pleased that the team managed to emerge from a psychological slump: "This is a very important victory psychologically. After two consecutive draws, the players were worried that they couldn't achieve victories. There was psychological tension. Fortunately, the players did not break. A mature and experienced team was able to recover from a not-so-successful start to the season. I couldn't single out any player, the team won the victory. The defensive line played well, having to do a lot of work, but the defenders handled it well."
Sergej Kuznecov, who scored two goals into the "Nevėžis" goal, regretted not being able to score a third: "I wanted to score a hat-trick. I used to score eleven-meter penalties before, unfortunately, it didn't work out today. In the upcoming matches, I will try to make up for it and score a goal during the game."
