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In the friendly match held at Vilnius "Sportima" arena in the capital's derby, the "Vėtra" footballers lost 2-5 to the "Vilnius" club. After the match, "Vėtra" coach Aleksandras Tarchanovas had many criticisms of the defense, but stated that this defeat should not be seen as a tragedy.
"The change in the playing surface had a significant impact. Throughout the season, we were preparing on grass, and only yesterday we trained on artificial turf for the first time. Not all players easily adapt to such changes," - A.Tarchanovas spoke officially to the club's website.
- What are the main reasons for the defeat? - The players lacked concentration, focus. The three free days after the training camp in Turkey also had an impact. After playing three decent matches against strong opponents ("Spartak", "Černomorets" and "Dinamo"), the players might have thought that today would be an easy victory. "Vilnius" was determined and took advantage of our relaxation. We attacked well, created more opportunities than the opponents. However, defensive errors nullified our efforts. By the end of the first half, we conceded three goals, which is hard to justify. Not only defenders made mistakes, but the goalkeeper also lacked confidence in his game.
- During the break, you replaced two defenders – Budimiras and Sulejmanovičius, moving Raliukonis back into defense. Did it pay off? - We have problems in defense. There was no team effort in defending. We allowed the opponents to counterattack a lot, which was a lack of safe play. Sulejmanovičius lacks playing practice, Budimiras couldn’t train full force for a week due to a pulled calf muscle, and Davit Čigladze is sick. Therefore, changes had to be made. We do not rule out the possibility that during the season, Raliukonis will play not only as a holding midfielder but also in the center-back position, as he did last year.
- Did you see any positives in "Vėtra's" performance today? - We played decently in attack. In the middle of the field, there were moments of combination play, and players showed understanding between each other. Stankevičius' productive game is pleasing, especially his second goal was beautiful. In the second training camp, we planned four matches, we will continue to improve our game, and there is definitely room for improvement.
