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The second victory this season was achieved by "Šiauliai", who defeated "Šilutė" at home in the fourth round of the A League.
Šiauliai City Municipality Stadium, 1000 spectators Referee - G. Mažeika 1 - 0 84‘ [1-0] Valery Tshyhanenko
"Šiauliai": Ingus Lukovičs; Gintaras Juodeikis, Deivydas Lunskis, Egidijus Žukauskas, Intars Kirchners; Vaidas Šilėnas, Alesandr Zabara, Gediminas Butavičius (58' Mantas Kuklys), Davidas Arlauskis (81' Tadas Špukas); Viktor Raskov (66' Vaidas Viktoravičius), Valery Tsiganenko
"Šilutė": Mihael Hertelendi (46' Aidas Fabijonas); Valentinas Šulkevičius, Andrius Sanajevas, Ivan Brezina, Akaki Khubutia; Tadas Kijanskas, Vygantas Zubavičius, Gediminas Vičius, Marius Bezykornovas; Pavel Kovačev (57' Mindaugas Valančius), Gintas Podelis (30' Martynas Normantas)
A good number of fans gathered for the match, even though the weather in Šiauliai was cold and rainy.
However, the desire of the locals to see the match was understandable: in the previous round, their favorites achieved a stunning victory against the current underdog Visaginas "Inter".
Meanwhile, "Šilutė" earned two points in three matches, drawing with the same "Inter" and Vilnius "Žalgiris", but suffering a defeat against Marijampolė's "Sūduva".
The hosts - "Šiauliai" footballers - started the match more aggressively. Viktor Raskov had a great opportunity in the 3rd minute, but the Ukrainian missed the goal.
Five minutes later, near the penalty area, "Šilutė" forward Gintas Podelis was brought down, and Marius Bezykornovas, the master of set-pieces for "Šilutė", tried to convert the free kick, but this time his shot went straight into the goalpost.
In the 15th minute, Šiauliai's Intars Kirchners tried to catch the opponents' goalkeeper off guard with a long-range shot, but his attempt missed the goal by several meters.
The first yellow card in the match was shown to "Šiauliai" defender Davidas Arlauskis, who tried to stop a quick "Šilutė" attack and fouled G. Podelis. Unfortunately, the latter could not continue the match, and he was replaced by M. Normantas.
"Šiauliai", actively supported by the fans, had territorial dominance and successfully exploited it a few minutes later, when V. Raskovas scored a goal. However, the assistant referee flagged for offside and the goal was disallowed.
After the substitution, M. Normantas appeared on the field, went one-on-one with "Šiauliai" goalkeeper Ingus Lukovičs, but failed to score. In the final minutes of the first half, after a header from I. Kirchners, V. Raskovas had an unsuccessful shot on goal.
During halftime, for unclear reasons, "Šilutė's" head coach decided to replace their main goalkeeper M. Heterlandi with A. Fabijonas.
In the second half, about ten minutes in, another "Šilutė" player could no longer continue the match, this time P. Kovačiov needed stretchers, and he was replaced by M. Valančius.
Both teams did not show active play at the beginning of the second half, with "Šiauliai" controlling the ball in the middle of the field but not creating dangerous opportunities.
Šiauliai finally achieved their goal with just over five minutes left to play - Valerijus Tshyhanenko repeated his shot on goal after the "Šilutė" goalkeeper A. Fabijonas deflected the ball. The goalkeeper was actively challenged by the young Tadas Špukas.
Šiauliai, after scoring a goal, did not slow down and sought to double the lead. The hosts' players broke through the defense twice, but both T. Špukas and another substitute Vaidas Viktoravičius could not beat the goalkeeper. Although "Šiauliai" eventually managed to score a third goal, it was not counted, as the referee spotted an offside this time.
