© EuroFootball.com
In the first match of the Lithuanian championship season, the Vilnius derby took place between "Vilnius" and "Vėtra" clubs. The intense but not impressive match ended in a 0-0 draw.
"Vėtra" Stadium, 811 spectators Referee - Paulius Malžinskas 0 - 0
"Vilnius": Valius; Radavičius, Rodnei, Artiomovas, Freidgeimas; Paulinho, Erasmo, Andreson, Lukša; Adilson (62' Muller), Kleyr (88' Wasiu)
"Vėtra": Žutautas; Sasnauskas (57' Sulejmanovič), Skerla, Budimir, Jankauskas, Pedro; Panka, Raliukonis, Butrimavičius; Severino (81' Azizi), Stankevičius (57' Juška)
"Vilnius", who was the formal host of the match, played without their captain Aivaras Laurišo, who was celebrating his 30th birthday, due to injury. Meanwhile, "Vėtra" had to face this match without injured Macedonian legionnaires Bobi Božinovski and Dejan Milošeskio. The intrigue of the match was added by a particularly nervous final confrontation between the teams in friendly matches.
At the beginning of the match, "Vėtra" had a great opportunity to break forward - after a pass from Vitalijus Stankevičius, Mindaugas Panka was left free in the penalty area, but his shot from ten meters missed the target. Soon after, Lima Severino also missed the target, and no one managed to create anything more dangerous in the counterattack.
Later, the territorial advantage was gained by the "Vilnius" team, but the defense of "Vėtra" played reliably and did not allow the opponents to seriously threaten Vaidas Žutautas' goal. In the 32nd minute, Gediminas Butrimavičius was close to scoring a goal, but his long-range shot hit the post.
A few minutes later, "Vėtra" launched a dangerous fast attack, but after two sharp passes from the flanks, no player could take a shot. Towards the end of the half, V.Žutautas had some work, having to catch balls after long-range shots from the Brazilian players Erasmo and Paulinho of "Vilnius", while Adilson failed to score from close range.
After the break, "Vilnius" began the half with more active attacks but again failed to break through the defense of "Vėtra". At the beginning of the half, referee Paulius Malžinskas near the "Vėtra" penalty area recorded a dangerous play, but Andreson's penalty shot hit the crossbar.
Both teams made many mistakes, preventing them from creating anything more dangerous, and a large part of the half was played in the middle of the field.
In the 70th minute, "Vėtra" earned a penalty kick, but after G. Butrimavičius' attempt, the goalkeeper Liudvikas Valius saved the ball. The hosts responded with a long-range shot directly at V. Žutautas, and shortly after a pass from Pedro, the ball's header almost reached V. Stankevičius, replaced by Egidijus Juška.
In the tense final moments of the match, "Vilnius" could have snatched a victory, but Kleyr's header missed the target, and in the last moment, "Vėtra" was saved from W. Akanni's shot by A. Skerla. The match ended with a goalless draw.
One of the best "Vėtra" defenders, Andrius Skerla, said after the match that the team failed to overcome the tension in the first championship match and show good play, acknowledging that the draw was a fair result.
"The result is fair, although I think we had more opportunities to score. There was a lot of hustle in the teams' play, and we didn't show the type of game we can demonstrate. The quality of the field was a bit of a hindrance, and the players were too nervous because these were the first Lithuanian championship matches of the year," said A. Skerla.
Meanwhile, "Vėtra" goalkeeper Mindaugas Panka said that the team lacked the ability to capitalize on their chances for a win.
"The match was even, but we had better chances to score. Initiative during the match was sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other, but we lacked the ability to capitalize on at least one chance for a win. I think one goal in this match would have decided everything. I had one chance myself, unfortunately, I couldn't convert it," said the player.
When asked if playing against his former club had any influence, M. Panka downplayed it: "Nervousness is always there before any match. Perhaps I was more nervous because it was the start of the Lithuanian championship, rather than playing against former teammates."
