© EuroFootball.com
The champions 'Kaunas' defending the title of champions traveled to the capital on Sunday and met 'Vilnius' in the third round match of the 'A league'. The intense match with the local team, similar to the mutual duel of the 11th round of last year, ended in a 2-2 draw.
Vilnius 'Vėtra' stadium, 500 spectators Referee - Vijūnas Vasiliauskas 2 - 2 28' [1 - 0] Kleyr Vieira dos Santos 62' [1 - 1] Ričardas Beniušis 66' [1 - 2] Ričardas Beniušis 83' [2 - 2] Kleyr Vieira dos Santos
'Vilnius': Valius; Radavičius, Artiomovas, Rodnei, Freidgeimas; Paulinho, Andreson, Binho, Lukša (75' Rodolfo); Muller, Kleyr (88' Wasiu)
'Kaunas': Malinauskas; Kunevičius, Radžius, Bagužis, Mrowiec (86' Kšanavičius); Kvaratskhelia, Strakhanovic, Bartkus, Pehlič (68' Mendy); Ledesma (90' Činikas), Beniušis
At the beginning of the match, the men from Kaunas dominated - they had territorial advantage and tried to launch attacks near the opponents' goal, but failed to create greater danger. The first chance to lead his team came in the 13th minute for Ričardas Beniušis - after a pass from Rafael Ledesma from the left flank, the tall striker headed slightly over the crossbar. Moments later, the ball after a scramble in the penalty area and ricochet flew past the goal of the capital's team.
Active player R.Beniušis tested Liudvikas Valius with a shot from 12 meters in the 22nd minute, but despite all this, after 6 minutes the ball was removed from their own goal by the visiting goalkeeper Mindaugas Malinauskas - Muller broke through on the left flank and passed the ball to Kleyr, who only had to head it into the goal from a few meters away.
The Lithuanian champions tried to equalize, but soon the attacking duo of 'Vilnius' almost scored again. This time, in an almost identical situation, Kleyr passed the ball to Muller in the penalty area, where his teammate was already waiting by the far post. But the Brazilian lacked accuracy - the shot was very imprecise.
In the 39th minute, another fire lit up near the 'Kaunas' goal - after a corner lifted by Muller, the ball flew through the entire penalty area parallel to the goal line, but not a single Vilius player managed to touch it and send it into the net. In the remaining time, the tough footballers stumbled several times, and the break came with the hosts leading by a minimal score of 1-0.
At the start of the second half, 'Vilnius' attempted to score with long shots several times, but soon conceded two goals. In the 62nd minute, R.Beniušis, who constantly tore apart the defense of the Vilnius club, was the first to rush to the ball that bounced off his teammate's header and beat the defender to send it into the empty net and level the score.
Just 4 minutes later, the same striker seemed to take the ball from the defender Rodnei in the penalty area and with a strong shot from 10 meters left no chance for L.Valius. Furthermore, Raphael Ledesma could have increased the lead shortly after, but his spectacular shot just missed.
However, after this episode, the hosts gradually took over the initiative and began to dominate on the field in an effort to equalize the score. In the 76th minute, Andreson broke into the penalty area, and although his shot was blocked by the defenders, Muller fell after a contact with the opponent.
Still, the referee did not dare to award a penalty kick in the controversial situation. A few moments later, the same 'Vilnius' club forward missed just a few centimeters to reach a dangerous pass from his teammate near the goal.
Ultimately, the hosts' efforts paid off - in the 83rd minute, Muller, who had a great game, deceived several opponents with an individual run and after beating the 'Kaunas' defense, broke into the penalty area. Then the Brazilian did not hesitate to pass to his compatriot Kleyr, who, being alone against M.Malinauskas, scored the second goal in this match without much difficulty.
The determined Vilnius players did not give up and sought to win. The most realistic opportunity to do so in added time fell to Andreson, but the goalkeeper blocked his long-range shot.
During the press conference after the match, the coaches of both teams admitted that the result achieved was fair.
"We had a difficult start to the match, but in the second half, we played quite well, created a few chances, and scored a goal," described the head coach of 'Vilnius' Antanas Vingilys. - "It is a pity, but after the break, we fell into a hole, and the unwritten rule of football 'if you don't score, they will' soon resulted in two quick goals. Nevertheless, I am glad that the guys did not give up. I think the result reflects what happened on the field, and is fair."
When asked to describe the performance of forward Muller, who has so far been marked by selfish play, the coach said: "We had many face-to-face conversations with the Brazilian to solve this problem. We said that if he does not play for the team, he will have to sit on the bench for reserve players, as he did in the previous round. Today Muller demonstrated the kind of game we wanted to see."
A.Vingilys also added that the most active fans were missing from the stadium for the Vilnius team: "Of course, the fans were missing, but why they were not there - I do not know."
Meanwhile, 'Kaunas' coach Vladimir Kurnevas said: "The match was intense, and the result was fair. Of course, it is regrettable that we were only able to achieve a draw, but let's not forget that after the first half, the opponents had the advantage."
The Belarusian also noted that the champions lacked the successful play of Rafael Ledesma and Edin Pehličius, who were absent from the stadium: "We would like to see better performance from them, but it is what it is. E.Pehličius returned from his national team duties with an injury, so we cannot make any changes."
