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On Wednesday in Šiauliai, the clubs "Šiauliai" and Klaipėda "Atlantas" met at the bottom of the tournament table. The victory was celebrated by the visiting team from the port city with a convincing lead.
Šiauliai City Municipality Stadium, 1600 spectators Referee – Viktoras Chileckis 1 - 3 Klaipėda 5' [0 - 1] Donatas Navikas 21' [0 - 2] Mateo Silič 50' [0 - 3] Andrius Petreikis 77' [1 - 3] Viktor Raskov
Starting lineup for "Šiauliai": Giedrius Arlauskis, Gintaras Juodeikis, Deivydas Lunskis, Egidijus Žukauskas, Intras Kirhners, Andrejus Oriol (79‘ Aleksandr Zabara), Vaidas Šilėnas, Gediminas Butavičius (23‘ Davidas Arlauskis), Mindaugas Lukoševičius, Viktor Raskov, Valery Tshyhanenko (46‘ Vaidas Viktoravičius)
Starting lineup for "Atlantas": Arnas Lekevičius, Povilas Šarūnas (53‘ Romualdas Maciulevičius), Zigmantas Butkus, Kazimieras Gnedojus, Ivo Begič, Andrius Petreikis, Donatas Navikas, Mateo Silič, Jelen Pokorn, Rimantas Žvingilas (90‘ Donatas Surblys), Mindaugas Daunoravičius (73‘ Andrius Pancerovas)
At the beginning of the match, the ball was controlled by the players of "Šiauliai". However, the first opportunity to score a goal came in the 5th minute near the hosts' goal. Rimatas Žvingilas broke through on the right side, crossed the ball into the penalty area, and left Donatas Navikas unmarked to beat the opponent's goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis with a single touch.
Another counterattack opportunity was created by the players from Klaipėda. Andrius Petreikis passed the ball into the penalty area, where R. Žvingilas didn't touch the ball, leaving it to D. Navikas, but he failed to score again.
In the 21st minute, "Atlantas" organized a very beautiful attack. Several passes were made near the penalty area, Zigmantas Butkus passed the ball to Mateo Silič, and the Croatian player found the back of the net by scoring the second goal - 2-0.
After the second conceded goal, the coach of Šiauliai, probably realizing his tactical mistake, made a substitution. Davidas Arlauskis entered the field, replacing Gediminas Butavičius. Losing 0-2, the hosts on the field took a bit more initiative and tried to soften the result.
During one of the hosts' attacks, the referee Viktoras Chileckis noted a foul near the penalty area and initially showed a red card to Ivo Begič, but then corrected his mistake and changed it to a yellow card.
Šiauliai's striker Viktoras Raskovas attempted a penalty kick, and R. Žvingilas handled the ball, resulting in a yellow card for the Klaipėda player. V. Raskovas tried to take the shot again, but the "Atlantas" goalkeeper Arnas Lekevičius wasn't successful at deflecting the ball, and no Šiauliai player rushed to it.
A few minutes before the end of the first half, a corner kick was awarded near the Šiauliai goal. The ball was struck by the hosts' defender Deivydas Lunskis, but his shot went over the crossbar thanks to "Atlantas" goalkeeper A. Lekevičius.
After the first half, the coach of Šiauliai made the second substitution – Vaidas Viktoravičius replaced the foreign player V. Ciganenka. A few minutes into the second half, another attacking play by R. Žvingilas, but again the Šiauliai defenders obstructed D. Navikas from receiving the ball.
In the second half, Šiauliai players tried to control the game, but like the rest of the match, they played inaccurately, making mistakes in passing the ball.
Nevertheless, Šiauliai managed to soften the result - after a beautiful combination, in the 77th minute, V. Raskovas scored the fifth goal in the championship.
Referee blew the final whistle, confirming the victory of Klaipėda with a score of 3-1.
After the match, the coach of the visiting team, Vacys Lekevičius, said: "Before the match, I told the guys: 'We will fight. A positive result is needed'. We set the same goals for ourselves as in every game. I am pleased with the victory, especially since "Šiauliai" are one of our main competitors in the fight for a higher position in the tournament table.
"We played well, better than in the previous few matches. The goalkeeper played well. I was both happy and worried after we scored quickly. We were the first to score in matches against "Žalgiris" and "Ekranas". I was afraid that the situation would not repeat itself, but I believed it wouldn't," Lekevičius said.
Šiauliai coach Darius Magdišauskas admitted that this was the least successful match for his team this season: "Before the match, we hoped for a victory. Before the season, we set goals to compete for top places, but all the teams in the league are equal, and you never know how one team will play in one match or another. We played the worst match of the season."
Asked if the early goal influenced the outcome of the match, the coach replied: "Football is such a sport. If we didn't score, they did. We will try to correct our mistakes and not disappoint our fans in the next matches, whom we disappointed in this one."
