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One match was played on Tuesday in the "A League" championship - in the postponed match of the first round, third-placed Vilnius "Vėtra" clashed with Klaipėda's "Atlantas," who are fighting for a place in the top four. Similar to their previous meeting in the [link="http://www.eurofootball.com/index.php?page=news&id=6459"]19th round[/link] in the capital, the match was very intense and this time at the very end of the game, "Atlantas" managed to snatch a point.
Vilnius "Vėtros" stadium, 700 spectators Referee - Vitalijus Kazlauskas 2 - 2 15' [0 - 1] Donatas Navikas 39' [1 - 1] Julius Raliukonis 70' [2 - 1] Egidijus Juška 88' [2 - 2] Martynas Karalius
44' Rimantas Žvingilas ("Atlantas"), 45' Sergiy Kuznecov ("Vėtra") sent off
"Vėtra": Kacinkevičius; Sasnauskas, Raliukonis, Žudys, Barmoš; Šernas, Preikšaitis (87' Azizi), Miloševski, Vėževičius (89' Litvinas); Juška (71' R.Karčemarskas), Kuznecov
"Atlantas": Valius; D.Žutautas, E.Žukauskas, Žernys, Lukoševičius; Gedgaudas (90' Grigaitis), Petreikis (52' Danilyuk), Mockus, Navikas (85' Vraneševič); Karalius, Žvingilas
"Vėtra" was missing several key players in this match due to injuries - goalkeeper Vaidas Žutautas, defender Algis Jankauskas, and midfielder Bobis Božinovskis were unable to help the team, while forward Germanas Lovčevas missed the game due to illness. Meanwhile, "Atlantas" was without Ivo Begičius, who was suspended due to yellow cards.
The start of the match was cautious, with both teams focusing on defense, and the ball mostly in the middle of the field. The first dangerous attack ended with a goal - after a penalty kick, "Atlantas" player Donatas Navikas scored and beat "Vėtra" goalkeeper Arvydas Kacinkevičius in the 15th minute to put the visitors ahead 1-0.
Just a few minutes later, "Vėtra" forward Egidijus Juška responded with a precise shot into the opponent's goal, but the referee flagged for offside and disallowed the goal. However, the hosts managed to equalize at the end of the first half - Julius Raliukonis scored the equalizer in the 39th minute with a header after a corner kick.
At the end of the first half, there was a real nerve-racking situation on the pitch. In the 44th minute, "Atlantas" player and coach Rimantas Žvingilas was sent off for foul language, but the quantitative advantage for "Vėtra" lasted only a couple of minutes - after a corner kick towards the "Atlantas" goal, chaos erupted on the field as a visiting player, Dainius Žernys, fell to the ground, and after consulting with the assistant referee, the match referee, Vitalijus Kazlauskas, showed a red card to "Vėtra" forward Sergiy Kuznecov for allegedly striking his opponent.
However, the tensions on the pitch were calmed during the break. At the beginning of the second half, the "Vėtra" midfielder Darvydas Šernas had two excellent opportunities - in the 51st minute, he broke into the penalty area and shot towards the far corner, but the visitors were saved by goalkeeper Liudvikas Valius, and shortly after, the Vilnius goalkeeper created a very similar chance, but once again failed to beat the opponent's goalkeeper.
Nevertheless, "Vėtra" continued to attack, and in the 72nd minute, they took the lead when Nerijus Sasnauskas broke through on the edge and made a precise pass towards the far post, where Egidijus Juška headed the ball into the opponent's goal - 2-1. But that wasn't all, and with five minutes left until the end of the match, "Atlantas" forward Martynas Karalius equalized the score with a header from a corner kick. The match full of emotions ended in a 2-2 draw, which was more satisfying for "Vėtra," who maintained an eight-point advantage over "Atlantas," who climbed to fifth place, and increased their lead over "Sūduva" in fourth place.
After the match, the players of "Vėtra," speaking officially to the club's website, did not hide their satisfaction with the red card shown to S.Kuznecov and accused the opponents of theatrics.
"Dainius Žernys had me pinned down, holding me tightly by the arms when a corner kick was being taken. I tried to free myself, and only after the attack did I notice that my opponent was lying on the ground. I certainly did not hit him, nor had any intention to do so. I think in this situation, theatrics were unnecessary," said "Vėtra" captain Julius Raliukonis.
S.Kuznecov, who was punished, reacted more emotionally to the situation: "I have never experienced anything like this in my career. I wasn't even near the opponent's player who fell as if shot. I rushed back to defend, and it is incomprehensible to me how the referee could make such a decision? How could I hit the opponent at eleven meters and be at the center line a few seconds later? I have never experienced such a nightmare in my career."
"Vėtra" coach Aleksandras Tarchanovas regretted the missed victory and the insecure performance of the goalkeeper but understandably did not lament the result too much: "It was a very stubborn, emotional battle. It's a shame we couldn't maintain the lead, but the result isn't bad because we didn't let 'Atlantas' get too close in the 'A League' standings. Unfortunately, these matches highlighted our weaknesses, primarily the goalkeeper, as Arvydas Kacinkevičius, who replaced the injured Vaidas Žutautas, doesn't feel confident in goal and doesn't rescue the team. Injuries hinder achieving better results, but we won't give up and will fight for a higher position."
