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During the 9th round match at the Žalgiris Stadium in the capital city, two Vilnius teams, "Žalgiris" and "Vėtra," faced each other. In a match played in the rain, the Žalgiris team dominated most of the game, but conceded a goal eight minutes before the end of the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw.
Vilnius "Žalgiris" stadium, 750 spectators Referee - Edmundas Gaigalas 1-1 27' [1-0] Tadas Labukas 82' [1-1] Julius Raliukonis
"Žalgiris": Šetkus; Aleksa, Gražiūnas, I.Steško, Kazlauskas (67' Choruži); Lemežis, Poderis, Miliškevičius, Puotkalis; Morinas, Labukas (80' Krukovski).
"Vėtra": V.Žutautas; Sasnauskas, Raliukonis, Žudys, A.Jankauskas; Milošeski, Preikšaitis (81' Talancev), Vencevičius, Božinovski (65' Šernas); Blažys (46' R.Karčemarskas), Kuznecov.
The match started off with an active play from both teams, exchanging weak shots directly at the goalkeepers. In the 7th minute, Žalgiris player Andrius Puotkalis took a dangerous shot from outside the penalty area, but the ball flew over the goal.
Two minutes later, another dangerous moment occurred near the "Vėtra" goal, but Tadas Labukas missed the header slightly. In the 11th minute, "Vėtra" players created a promising attack, but Dejan Milošeskis failed to hit the ball after a pass from Bobo Božinovski. Eimantas Poderis tried his luck from a distance in another attack, but his shot did not trouble the "Vėtra" goalkeeper Vaidas Žutautas.
In the first half, Žalgiris tried to play in a somewhat unusual style, attempting high passes into the penalty area, which eventually paid off. In the 27th minute, after a pass from A.Puotkalis from the left flank, T.Labukas headed the ball accurately and sent it into the "Vėtra" goal.
After three minutes, A.Puotkalis himself tried his luck from distance, but the shot was a bit too strong and the ball flew over the goal. In the 33rd minute, B.Božinovski outwitted several defenders in the "Žalgiris" half, but his pass into the penalty area was inaccurate.
The second half started with a change in the "Vėtra" lineup - Rolandas Karčemarskas appeared on the field instead of Edvinas Blažys. However, the hosts continued to play more actively at the beginning of the half, and in the 48th minute Igoris Morinas managed to escape from the "Vėtra" defenders and pass the ball into the penalty area, but no one was there to receive it.
In the 53rd minute, the same I.Morinas sprinted towards the "Vėtra" goal, but "Vėtra" goalkeeper V.Žutautas came out in time to intercept the ball and eliminate the danger. After this Žalgiris attack, "Vėtra" gradually took over the initiative and started pressing their opponents in an attempt to equalize the score.
Twelve minutes into the second half, Macedonians D.Milošeskis and B.Božinovski found themselves in the "Žalgiris" penalty area again, but after the latter's pass, the native striker failed to reach the ball. Just a few minutes later, Donatas Vencevičius attempted a long-range shot, but his effort was off target.
In the 64th minute, Marijanas Choruži appeared on the field for "Žalgiris" in place of the injured Marius Kazlauskas. Ten minutes later, a free kick ended up at E.Poderis in the "Vėtra" penalty area, but he also failed to hit the ball.
With a little over 10 minutes remaining, a shot from the same E.Poderis in the penalty area was blocked by the "Vėtra" goalkeeper V.Žutautas, who then deflected a shot from Puotkalis. The ball bounced to E.Poderis, who only had to score into the "Vėtra" goal, but the referee decided that the "Žalgiris" defender was in offside position, and the goal was disallowed.
"Vėtra" continued to press their opponents, and in the 82nd minute, it paid off - visitor's defender Julius Raliukonis received the ball near the penalty area and calmly, with a precise shot from about 13 meters, sent it into the bottom left corner of the "Žalgiris" goal.
With the score leveled at 1-1, "Žalgiris" intensified their game and tried to score another goal, but the closest opportunity before the end of the match fell to the "Vėtra" players during injury time, when Karčemarskas took a shot over the goal. Thus, the Vilnius derby ended in a 1-1 draw.
After the match, "Vėtra" coach Edgaras Gessas said that a draw is a fair outcome of a match between equal opponents: "The game was interesting. There was no lack of excitement and desire to win on the field. Both teams were well prepared for the match, "Žalgiris" played better in the first half, but the initiative belonged to us after the break. I think the match should have pleased the fans."
Julius Raliukonis, the "Vėtra" captain who scored the equalizing goal, agreed with the coach that his team played better after the break. "We didn't play very well in the first half. In the second half, we showed what we are capable of. "Vėtra" fought hard, and that's why we managed to equalize the result. The quality of the fields is still poor, so it's hard for our technically skilled team to demonstrate its full potential."
