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On April 27 in Šiauliai, the last first round match of the "General Financing A League" took place between the teams of Šiauliai "Šiauliai" and Gargždai "Bangos". Both teams are positioned in the second half of the tournament table, so points are crucial for both teams. However, after the match, only one team could celebrate with three hard-earned points. Playing with a man down for one and a half periods, "Bangos" managed to snatch a victory of 1-2.
Starting lineup of "Šiauliai":
Goalkeeper: Mindaugas Malinauskas
Defenders: Deivydas Lunkis (C), Ernestas Pilypas, Juvenal, Laurynas Rimavičius
Midfielders: Robertas Vėževičius, Tautvydas Eliošius, Igors Kozlovs, Andrius Bartkus, Santiago Cesanelli
Forward: Artūras Rimkevičius
The match took place for the first time this season at the central stadium in the city of Šiauliai. The intense start of the match saw Gargždai "Bangos" take the lead in the 22nd minute, with their legionnaire Giorgi Nikabadze from Georgia sending the ball into the empty net. With the score at 0-1 in favor of "Bangos," an incident occurred on the field in the 39th minute when Serge Tatiefang headbutted an opponent. This did not go unnoticed by the referee, and the latter was sent off the field for unsportsmanlike behavior. The remaining ten players from Gargždai kept the lead until the end of the half, resulting in a 0-1 advantage for "Bangos."
In the second half, the Šiauliai team were more active, which paid off. In the 68th minute, Robertas Vėževičius scored his first goal of the season, equalizing the score to 1-1. This gave the "Šiauliai" players extra motivation to score another goal. However, Evaldas Grigaitis, left completely unmarked about 19 meters from the goal, seized the opportunity and sent a beautiful and precise shot into the Šiauliai net. 1-2. Playing with a man down, Gargždai maintained their lead until the end of the match, celebrating their second consecutive victory and climbing to 6th place in the tournament table.
After the match, the head coach of the Šiauliai team, Deivis Kančelskis, said: "We managed to score only one goal against a team playing with a disadvantage, while conceding 2 goals, meaning they wanted it more, they tried harder. The second goal by "Bangos" was truly beautiful. Someone made a mistake, space opened up to shoot. Fantastic strike. The defense played very poorly, we conceded a goal while the opponents were playing with ten men. We cannot allow this to happen when playing with a majority."
"We achieved a very difficult victory. We scored the first goal. However, an impulsive action by Tatiefang disrupted all plans. We had to play defensively with a man down. We put up a 'barrier,' which helped keep the goal line dry. In addition, we managed to score a fantastic goal in a counterattack and snatch the victory. The whole team played disciplined, everyone performed well in their positions. I can't single out any player, everyone played well. The feeling after playing the first match on grass is fantastic. A successful end to the round gives us optimism, and we hope to continue with good results. Returning to this stadium evokes a sense of nostalgia, yet the best years of my career passed right here in Šiauliai, so it's a special feeling to come back here," said Vaidas Žutautas, the head coach of "Bangos."
Šiauliai native Robertas Vėževičius shared his thoughts after the match: "It's very difficult to comment. Such a result seems impossible. Conceding one goal against five, it's very difficult to comment after such a match. We don't even know what's missing, it's a mix of psychology and belief in success. My goal doesn't bring joy, as we conceded the second one just a few minutes later, there's nothing to celebrate. It's a tragedy, we can't be in such a position with this lineup. A very bad result."
