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Successfully started the Lithuanian vice-champion Panevezys "Ekranas" the season of the A League, which defeated the "Šiauliai" team at home with a score of 2-0 and celebrated victory with their fans.
The first goal in the very first minute of the match after successful play by Giedrius Tomkevicius in the middle of the field and a great raid by Povilas Luksys towards the opponents' goal was scored by Vitalijus Kavaliauskas. The second goal in the 55th minute from a set piece was scored by G. Tomkevicius himself.
At a post-match press conference, the head coach of "Šiauliai" Darius Magdišauskas admitted that this match started very painfully for his team.
"Ekranas" is very dangerous and aggressive in the first 10-15 minutes. Although we were prepared for that, not even a minute passed and unfortunately... The match continued evenly. The Šiauliai team had several chances to punish "Ekranas", but they did not take advantage of them. So, once again, the well-known football rule was confirmed - if you don't score, they will. We made mistakes in defense that should not have happened," regretted the coach.
When asked about the foreign players, D. Magdišauskas replied: "They joined the team just a couple of weeks ago, so it was not easy for them in training and they still feel unaccustomed. Of course, they are high-level technical players, so I think they should integrate into the team soon."
"Ekranas" head coach Saulius Širmelis, unlike his colleague, was happy with the start of the match: "A good start is always great. Of course, we had a few more moments, but we lacked that precise final pass."
The coach admitted that he still feels initial nervousness and that the quality of the game is lacking: "We still lack the opportunity to train on normal quality fields, and when we only come out to play matches on a good field, the difference becomes obvious."
According to S. Širmelis, in these matches, they had to sacrifice football speed for accurate passes: "The first matches are always tough. Maybe they are not as beautiful as the spectators expect. But the most important thing is that the result is positive."
When asked about the prolonged struggle in the middle of the field, the coach said that he always wanted to play attacking football, but there are two teams playing who try to dictate the game.
"We will need time to demonstrate the game we want to show. In addition, we lack some players. Perhaps our young players are afraid to make mistakes," shared the coach his thoughts.
S. Širmelis admitted that in the first half, he had to focus on defense: "The opponents' attacker is really tall and drops the ball to other attackers in one or the other direction. We had to analyze the last matches between "Šiauliai" and the "Kruoja" team, so we prepared for that."
"Just before the championship, the Estonian player Taavi Rahn joined the team, so there was a kind of language barrier. Taavi speaks Russian, but he plays with Linas Klimavičius, who doesn't understand this language. Taavi knows a little English, but it is problematic for Linas to communicate in this language. So, there is no communication between defenders. Of course, we will demand that Taavi learn at least the most important phrases and combinations necessary for the game," explained S. Širmelis, the problem of defenders' lack of understanding.
The coach of Panevezys evaluates the prospects of Andrius Šidlauskas, a former player of the "Šiauliai" team who joined the team this year, quite positively.
"Of course, it is difficult to come from a team with one set of goals to a team with the highest goals. Here, even the smallest mistakes are evaluated differently. I have said many times that he is ready for serious work, a professional player, and an intelligent person, so everything should be in order," said the "Ekranas" coach confidently about A. Šidlauskas's future.
