Step Towards the Title: Vilnius Defeats Kaunas in the 'Žalgiris' Duel

2024-09-22 23:34 © Elvio Žaldario

In the central match of the 31st round of the "TOPsport A League," fans witnessed no intrigue. In the "Žalgiris” derby, the Vilnius team dominated from the very beginning of the match and celebrated victory with a score of 5:0 (4:0).

The encounter in the capital began with a prolonged VAR review, after which a penalty kick was awarded against the Kaunas team. Liviu Antalis confidently scored, beating Deividas Mikelionis and putting the Vilnius team ahead.

After conceding a goal, the Kaunas team did not falter and created their own opportunity, but Fedoras Černych, who received a pass from Vilius Armanavičius, failed to hit the target.

In the 24th minute, forward Nikola Petković doubled the advantage after receiving a pass from Yukiyoshi Karashima.

During the referee's added time of the first half, the Kaunas team's thrashing began – J. Bopesu found N. Petković with a precise pass, who scored his second goal. That was not the end – P. Golubickas deceived several opponents and, with a very accurate shot from the post, made the score 4:0.

Just before the break, the Kaunas team had a chance, but Oyinlola Kayode shot low and missed just next to the far post.

Four goals were not enough for the Vilnius team. In the 74th minute, from the penalty spot, Ovidijus Verbickas, who recently welcomed an addition to his family, scored another accurate shot for the team.

The Kaunas team, living a nightmare in the capital, is in third place in the tournament table with 52 points, while Vilnius "Žalgiris" has 64 points and is nearing the title.