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After the tense but victorious match, the head coach of "Ekranas", Valdas Urbonas, was pleased with the excellent start of the second half, but lack of game discipline led to a nerve-wracking end to the match. According to the coach, "Dainava" is a unique, fighting team.
Head Coach of "Ekranas" Valdas Urbonas: "The result shows that the victory was hard-fought. The first impression - we played in waves. Especially in the first half, the game didn't come together, we couldn't find a rhythm. We lacked initiation, players waited for the result to come. But it doesn't work that way, because "Dainava" is truly unique, a fighting team. In the first half, they managed to see attacks, we missed a goal. During the break, we adjusted our tactics, we succeeded in the first twenty minutes of the second half, when we had opportunities, we scored goals, we have reserves. Leading 3:1, we needed to finish the game calmly.
Unfortunately, we missed a goal due to mistakes, the end of the match became nerve-wracking. We did not adhere to game discipline, both team and individual player discipline wavered. I do not justify the actions of A.Kučys, R. Radavičius, they caused unnecessary tension. Naturally, when you are in the minority and there's a little time left, there is such pressure. It's good that we managed to maintain the result. "Dainava" did not create anything special during that time. I think we achieved a deserved victory.
We saw that M. Andelkovičius is far from his best form, he got injured during the cup final, a month without a break from playing. Perhaps we released him into the starting lineup a little too early. We thought that it would be better, he would be properly prepared for other matches and demonstrate what he is capable of.
U. Umeh is truly catching that good rhythm of play. He plays aggressively, creates moments, progress is felt, we know his capabilities. Perhaps in the spring he was not in the best form for one reason or another. I am glad that he is heading in the right direction and is now one of the team leaders. It's a joy when you have a larger number of people forming the core of the team.
Regarding Egidijus Varnas' injury, I cannot say anything yet, we need to wait for the doctor's diagnosis," immediately after the match, said "Ekranas" head coach Valdas Urbonas.
"Dainava" team captain Nerijus Bartkevičius: "It's unfortunate, in my opinion, today we deserved at least a draw. The first fifteen minutes of the second half ruined the entire match. I won't say we played high-level soccer, but good quality. I repeat, we deserved at least a draw. I regret some of the referee's decisions, where the referee could have awarded a penalty kick, of course, the video recording needs to be reviewed.
In the locker room, the coach emphasized exactly the first 15-20 minutes of the second half, that "Ekranas" would try to score a goal as quickly as possible. We knew that for sure, we just didn't choose the right people, lack of concentration and "Ekranas" equalized. Later the game evened out, anything could have happened in the match.
We played quite well in the first match in Kaunas, we had opportunities, there "Ekranas", I would say, got away with it. We knew how to play against them, tactically today we played a very good first half. We didn't give in to "Ekranas" in any part of the field. I repeat, 15 minutes determined the entire match," said "Dainava" team captain N. Bartkevičius after the match.
