32nd round: "Žalgiris" rose to fourth place © EuroFootball.com

On Wednesday, matches of the 32nd round of the NFKA "A League" were played, in which all three leading teams in the championship celebrated victories and further solidified their positions. Meanwhile, "Žalgiris" secured a crucial victory in Šiauliai, taking advantage of "Vilnius'" win against "Sūduva" and climbing to the fourth place in the standings. A true thriller took place in Vilnius, where "Vilnius" defeated Marijampolė's "Sūduva" 5-3 at the unusual venue of the "Vėtra" stadium. In a tense and back-and-forth match in Vilnius, "Sūduva" took the lead first with a header goal by Latvian legionnaire Aleksandras Abramenka in the 5th minute. However, "Vilnius'" Brazilian player Muller quickly equalized with a close-range goal, and at the beginning of the second half, the capital's team took the lead after a goal by Nigerian Akanni Wasiu. "Sūduva" managed to equalize through Tomas Mikuckis in the second half, but in the 78th minute, former Lithuanian national team defender Tomas Ražanauskas scored just minutes after coming on as a substitute to give "Vilnius" the lead. Towards the end of the match, "Vilnius" secured their victory with two more goals from the in-form Aivaras Laurišas, one of which veteran Darius Maciulevičius of "Sūduva" managed to respond to. In one of the most goal-filled matches of the season, "Vilnius" emerged victorious with a 5-3 scoreline. Apart from A.Laurišas, only Sergejus Kuznecovas scored two goals in this round, helping "Vėtra" celebrate a 2-0 win against Kėdainiai's "Nevėžis." Kuznecovas, who missed the last round due to suspension, scored in the 11th and 70th minutes to become the most prolific scorer of last year's player Manta Savėnas. M.Savėnas himself helped Panevėžys' "Ekranas," the defending champions, secure a victory in Klaipėda against "Atlantas." The 2005 champions quickly scored two goals in the 4th and 13th minutes through Vitalijus Kavaliauskas and Arūnas Klimavičius, and later M.Savėnas converted a penalty in the 66th minute. Despite conceding a goal to Antonas Kočerga in the 85th minute, "Atlantas" couldn't avoid another defeat. With twelve points ahead of "Ekranas," "Kaunas" still leads the race for the championship title, which is becoming increasingly closer. "Kaunas" defeated local team Šilutė with goals from Andrius Bartkus before half-time and strikers Rafaelis and Ričardas Beniušis in the second half within two minutes. To mathematically secure the gold medals, "Kaunas" only needs to collect four points in the remaining five rounds. In the match between "Šiauliai" and "Žalgiris" at the Šiauliai city stadium, a goalless first half was followed by a dominant second half by "Žalgiris," who ultimately won 2-0 with goals from Valerijus Mižigurskis in the 78th minute and Eimantas Poderis in added time. The victory moved "Žalgiris" up to fourth place, two points ahead of chasing "Sūduva" and four points ahead of "Atlantas." Statistics of the 32nd round: City stadium in Šiauliai, 500 spectators Referee - Saulius Atmanavičius Šiauliai 0 - 2 Žalgiris Goals: Valerijus Mižigurskis (78'), Eimantas Poderis (90+1') Vėtra stadium in Vilnius, 110 spectators Referee - Saulius Dirda Vilnius 5 - 3 Sūduva Goals: Aleksandr Abramenko (6'), Muller Silva (14'), Akanni Wasiu (50'), Tomas Mikuckis (62'), Tomas Ražanauskas (78'), Aivaras Laurišas (90'), Darius Maciulevičius (90+1'), Aivaras Laurišas (90+2') Šilutė city stadium, 70 spectators Referee - Antanas Rubys Šilutė 0 - 3 Kaunas Goals: Andrius Bartkus (41'), Rafael Rodrigues (73'), Ričardas Beniušis (75') Klaipėda "Žalgiris" stadium, 210 spectators Referee: Paulius Malžinskas Atlantas 1 - 3 Ekranas Goals: Vitalijus Kavaliauskas (4'), Arūnas Klimavičius (13'), Mantas Savėnas (66' pen.), Anton Kocherga (85') S. Dariaus and S. Girėno stadium in Kaunas, 75 spectators Referee - Edmundas Gaigalas Nevėžis 0 - 2 Vėtra Goals: Sergiy Kuznecov (11', 70')