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"A lyga" leaders Vilnius footballers secured another victory, this time after a tense and beautiful battle they defeated another capital team - "Vėtra" with a score of 2-1.
Vilnius "Vėtra" Stadium, 1000 spectators Referee - Audrius Žuta Vilnius "Vėtra" 1 - 2 Vilnius 17' [0 - 1] Muller Santos Da Silva 30' [0 - 2] Vytautas Lukša 38' [1 - 2] Pedro Botelho
"Vėtra": Kozyrev; Jankauskas (66' Karčemarskas), Pedro, Raliukonis, Skerla, Usachev; Sasnauskas, Butrimavičius (55' Stankevičius), Panka; Severino, Juška
Vilnius": Valius; Artiomovas, Rodnei, Sokolovas; Radavičius, Lukša, Andreson, Erasmo, Paulinho; Kleyr (87' Rodolfo), Muller (80' Everton)
In these matches, a legionnaire from Russia Stanislav Kozyrev made his debut for "Vėtra" team, arriving in Lithuania just two days ago. He took the place of the injured Vaidas Žutautas in goal.
At the beginning of the match on the wet field, both teams struggled to create attacks, with no shortage of technical errors in the game. The first dangerous moment of the match ended with a goal: in the 17th minute of the match, Vilnius forward Muller escaped the defense in the penalty area and with a precise shot into the near corner, defeated the "Vėtra" goalkeeper.
After the goal, "Vėtra" visibly faltered, and they only had their first opportunity in the 24th minute when Egidijus Juška took a dangerous shot at goal, but Vilnius goalkeeper Liudvikas Valius managed to deflect the ball over the end line.
Capitalizing on "Vėtra's" disarray, Vilnius footballers continued to create dangerous attacks, and in the middle of the first half, Vytautas Lukša doubled the score with an impressive shot from more than 25 meters away.
Vilnius did not let up even while leading 2-0, and their advantage could have been further extended: in the penalty area, Muller received a free ball, but with the joint efforts of "Vėtra's" defenders and goalkeeper, they managed to defend.
In the 37th minute, "Vėtra" managed to reduce the score when Pedro from Brazil defeated L.Valius with a shot from the corner of the penalty area.
The second half started rather calmly for both teams, and the first real opportunity for a goal was only in the 55th minute when Vilnius defender Erasmo tried his luck from afar, but the ball flew past the goal. A few minutes later, Nerijus Sasnauskas' shot from a distance was repelled by Vilnius goalkeeper L.Valius.
Trying to change the course of the match, Aleksandras Tarchanovas began to strengthen the attack, firstly replacing Gediminas Butrimavičius with Vitalis Stankevičius, and later striker Rolandas Karčemarskas appeared on the field in place of defender Algirdas Jankauskas.
These changes soon had noticeable results. With the "Vētra" attack activated, Pedro passed the ball into the penalty area, but Lima Severino's shot missed the target. Shortly after, V. Stankevičius' dangerous shot was blocked by Vilnius centerback Rodnei.
At the end of the match, V. Stankevičius had another opportunity to score, but the ball, shot from about 12 meters away, flew over the goal.
"Vėtra" continued to press the opponents. In the 2nd minute of added time, "Vilnius" captain Julius Raliukonis failed to take advantage of a 100% chance to equalize the score, finding himself one-on-one with L.Valius, but shooting straight at the goalkeeper from 5 meters away.
The referee's whistle confirmed the victory of the "Vilnius" club with a score of 2-1, allowing the Vilnius team to retain the first place in the tournament table.
