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On Saturday, in the 10th round of NFKA A League matches, Panevėžys "Ekranas" fought a dramatic victory at home against "Šiauliai" with a score of 2-1, even though they were behind by one goal after the first half. The true hero of the match became Povilas Lukšys, who appeared on the field in the second half and first equalized the score, and then snatched the victory for Panevėžys in the last minute of added time.
Panevėžys "Aukštaitijos" stadium, 950 spectators Referee - Gediminas Mažeika Panevėžys 2 - 1 43` [0 - 1] Inters Kirchners 49` [1 - 1] Povilas Lukšys 90+2` [2 - 1] Povilas Lukšys
"Ekranas": Stefanovič; Paulauskas, Gleveckas, L.Klimavičius, Skroblas; Bička (68' Šidlauskas), Galkevičius, Savėnas, Pogreban; Varnas (46' Lukšys), Kavaliauskas
"Šiauliai": G.Arlauskis; Lapeikis, Lunskis, E.Žukauskas, Oriol; Kirchners, Juodeikis, Zabara (84' Timinskas), M.Lukoševičius; Butavičius (60' Šilėnas), Raskov (88' Tsiganenko)
In the very first minute, Vitalijus Kavaliauskas attacked the opponents' goal. Dainius Gleveckas also had an opportunity to score in the 6th minute, but his header went wide.
Opponents Gediminas Butavičius and Aleksandr Zabara's shots were successfully blocked by Panevėžys goalkeeper Bogdan Stefonovič. Around the 18th minute, defenseman Linas Klimavičius stopped a particularly dangerous attack by the guests - one of the Šiauliai players rushed to the ball cleared by the "Ekranas" goalkeeper, but the young defender defended the empty goal by clearing away the ball sent by the opponent.
Just before the hour mark, Mantas Savėnas came close to scoring: his long-range shot hit the crossbar. A few minutes later, after a corner was lifted by the team captain, Dainius Gleveckas had another opportunity to take his team forward. Dominykas Galkevičius also attempted to attack the opponents' goal, but his shot flew over the goal.
In the 43rd minute, the "Šiauliai" team took advantage of a defensive mistake by "Ekranas" and surged ahead. B.Stefanovič got a touch on Intars Kirchner's long-range shot, but the ball went past the goalkeeper and, despite his efforts to clear, it rolled into the "Ekranas" goal.
At the start of the second half, the players from Panevėžys immediately began to attack the opponents' goal. After coming onto the field as a substitute, Povilas Lukšys received a good pass from M.Savėnas and equalized the score after a few minutes. After this goal, "Ekranas" attacked more, while the guests tried to respond with counterattacks.
The "Ekranas" players did not give up and constantly tried to secure the victory. The "Šiauliai" goalkeeper defended Deimantas Bička's shot, a ball sent by former "Šiauliai" defender Andrius Šidlauskas flew over the goal, and another header attempt by Povilas Lukšys was unsuccessful.
The biggest threat to "Ekranas" came in the 51st minute, but Viktor Raskov's close-range header after a few minutes went straight to B.Stefanovič after hitting the crossbar.
In the last minutes of the match, both teams tried to snatch the victory, creating attacks on both ends. However, luck smiled upon Panevėžys - after M.Savėnas' free-kick towards the goal, P.Lukšys scored his third goal of the season.
