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On Sunday, April 1, at the Panevėžys "Aukštaitija" stadium, the Panevėžys "Ekranas" footballers will play their third Baltic Football League match and will seek revenge for the shameful 3-0 defeat to Latvian champions "Ventspils".
Panevėžys "Aukštaitija" stadium Baltic Football League 3rd round match Panevėžys - (Match starts at 14:00)
In the first match between these teams on March 17th, a very poor start cost the "Ekranas" footballers dearly, as the Latvian players managed to score three goals within the first three minutes and led 3-0 by the 23rd minute. Although the game evened out later, the "Ekranas" team failed to recover from the blow and had to admit a crushing defeat of 0-3 to the rivals.
Before the Sunday match, the head coach of "Ekranas" Saulis Širmelis was determined and stated that the team will seek revenge: "The team is determined for revenge. Since we suffered a painful loss, we are determined to fight seriously and give the victory to the fans."
However, "Ekranas" will have to play in this match without two key players: defender Gediminas Paulauskas, who is currently representing the Lithuanian national team, and the injured Povilas Lukšys. While the injury to the latter striker is not very serious, "Ekranas" is not willing to risk the health of one of the team's leaders at the start of the season. Good news for the Panevėžys camp is that striker Vitalijus Kavaliauskas has already recovered.
Meanwhile, "Ventspils" coach Roman Grigorčiukas downplayed the importance of the match against "Ekranas": "We see the match in Panevėžys as just another friendly preseason match. We did not specifically prepare for this match, as we had our own goals in preparation for the Latvian championship starting on April 7th."
In this match, "Ventspils" will play with their main lineup, except for Ukrainian defender Igor Pokarinin who is out with a serious injury.
However, R. Grigorčukas stated that "Ekranas" is a very strong team despite their previous meeting: "We just took advantage of our chances in that match, and they did not. Although we did not specifically prepare for this match, we expect to win on Sunday. However, tough match awaits."
During the international match break, "Ventspils" player Denis Kačanovas was called up to the Latvian national team, and Jevgenijus Kosmacovas to the youth team. The club was also joined by two Russians - 18-year-old Aleksandras Misikovas and 19-year-old Levanas Džarkavas, but they are unlikely to play against "Ekranas".
An interesting fact is that "Ventspils" is the only club in the Baltic Football League that has not conceded a single goal yet.
Possible lineups:
"Ekranas": Stefanovič; Padaigis, L.Klimavičius, Gleveckas, Skroblas; Bička, Tomkevičius, Galkevičius, Savėnas, Pogreban; Kavaliauskas
"Ventspils": Vanins; Ndeki, Kačanovs, Sokolskis, Kosmačovs; Dubenskiy, Zangareev, Krjauklis, Zizilevs; Rimkus, Slesarčuks"
