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After the 2006 LFF Cup final match, the head coach of Marijampolė's "Sūduva", Algimantas Gabrys, and the strategist of the losing team, Panevėžys "Ekranas", Virginijus Liubšys, shared their thoughts at a press conference.
Already in the first minute of the match, Marijampolė took the lead after Darius Maciulevičius' goal, and the team maintained the lead until the end of the match, securing a 1-0 victory and the club's first cup in history.
Named the best player of "Ekranas" and awarded Vitalijus Kavaliauskas, while the best player of "Sūduva" was Darius Maciulevičius, and in general, the best player of the LFF Cup final was "Sūduva" defender Tomas Mikuckis.
"Sūduva" coach A. Gabrys admitted that he considered the opponents as favorites to win, but was pleased with his team's performance: "Today we participated in the prestigious LFF Cup match. Before the match, we thought that the initiative would be in Panevėžys' hands, and the main goal was to protect our goal from goals. I am satisfied with the performance of my team's players - their game throughout the 90 minutes was really good."
"Both Ekranas and our club's players were not fully recovered physically after the last A League championship matches. In addition to serious injuries, which K. Jasaitis has, football players experience micro-traumas in every match. Today Povilas Leimonas made his debut in "Sūduva"," the coach of Marijampolė said.
"Both the people of Panevėžys and us needed victory in the LFF cup match, that was our goal from the first cup match. We all know that "Ekranas" is a strong team - it is not without reason that they are second in this year's championship ranking," praised A. Gabrys the defeated opponents.
His colleague, Ekranas' head coach V. Liubšys, congratulated the opponents on their victory and identified his team's relaxation as the main reason for the defeat: "I sincerely congratulate Marijampolė's "Sūduva" on winning the LFF cup. Several things today prevented our team from winning. Firstly, the players went to the match in too good of a mood, thinking that they would win against "Sūduva" no matter what."
"I didn't recognize my team today... Obviously, conceding a goal in the 1st minute of the match doesn't make the game easier. The team arrived relaxed, as if to the beach, to pick up the cup," complained Ekranas' strategist about the players' attitude.
According to A. Liubšys, the team that wanted victory the most won: ""Sūduva" really wanted to win wholeheartedly. None of the players shone in today's match. Those who, in my eyes, could perform at 100 percent, I didn't see today. We were close to the cup, we reached the final, but we started looking for a place for the cup too early in Panevėžys."""
