Nine consecutive victories of Vilnius "Žalgiris" in the "SMScredit.lt A League" series were interrupted in Marijampolė. Before the national team break, the champion was unable to defeat the opponents in their away game. The match ended 0:0 with no goals scored, and after the game, "Sūduva" temporarily replaced head coach Aleksandar Veselinovičius, who was dismissed from the post, with his assistant Eivinas Černiauskas. Without Lithuanian national team players Egidijus Vaitkūnas and Mantas Kuklys of Žalgiris and Vaidas Slavickas of Sūduva, the teams tried to limit each other's space and primarily focused on breaking down the opponent's attacks, so most of the action took place in the midfield. The first cracks in the opponent's defense, where Žalgiris had a confrontation with the former coach Andro Švrljuga after a long break, were found by the Vilnius team. Saulius Mikoliūnas, who was playing in defense, passed the ball from deep to the striker Andrija Kaluđerović, but the shot was blocked by Algis Jankauskas at the last moment. Shortly after, the most productive Žalgiris defender was brought up front, but the attacking player Darius Isoda did everything to prevent the shot from reaching the Žalgiris player. In the middle of the half, the most dangerous attack was created by Sūduva. Admiras Kecapas saw Predrag Pavlovič approaching the goal, and he scored with a direct shot. After halftime, the game between the teams became more active, with less time spent in the midfield, but the goalkeepers demonstrated their skill. During a fast counterattack, Kaluđerović shot dangerously close to the goal. The active Sūduva player Eligijus Jankauskas was displeased with the referee's decision not to award a foul for a tackle on Mikoliūnas. After more than an hour of play, the height of Ivan Kardum helped the goalkeeper to catch a header attempt by Kaluđerović. His teammate Armantas Vitkauskas had to leave the goal and, falling at the feet of Paulius Janušauskas, head the ball almost on the edge of the penalty area. Substitute Justas Lasickas, who appeared on the pitch after a substitution, could have become the hero of the match after a few minutes, but his shot missed the target. Shortly after, Kaluđerović tested Kardum with a long-range shot. Towards the end of the match, the away team played more actively and wanted to secure the win, but their attacks were successfully thwarted by the flawless defense of "Sūduva". During added time, the debut of the new Ukrainian forward Leonidas Akulininas took place in the Sūduva team. The new vice-champion's strategist, Sergejus Kovalecas, made a successful debut at the helm of "Trakai". In the 24th round of the "SMScredit.lt A League," the hosts easily defeated Kaunas "Stumbras" 4:1 (2:0). The match began with a swift surge from the visitors. "Trakai" took advantage of the opponent's weak defense and quickly scored two goals. In the 5th minute, Aleksandras Byčenokas earned a penalty, which Nerijus Valskis converted with a flawless shot, and just seven minutes later, the rarely visible Donatas Šegžda directed the ball into the empty goal. It was evident that the hosts did not expect such a start to the match, and only luck saved "Stumbras" from conceding a third goal several times. Coach Mariano Barreto replaced Nerijus Mačiulis in the middle of the first half, sending Klaudijus Upstas onto the pitch to invigorate the team's attacks. Kaunas attacked dangerously after a corner kick, and they also forced Arūnas Klimavičius to make a sacrificial block against a dangerous penalty shot by Cristiano Alex. Again close to scoring in a beautiful attack was N. Valskis, who shot near the goal, and later Artiomas Gurenka did the same. After the break, the Belarusian legionnaire Gurenka hit the crossbar, and the ball, away from Luka Artimavičius, nearly found the net. However, in the 59th minute, the visitors scored their third goal. A. Byčenokas passed the ball to Jevgenij Zasavicki, who took advantage of the space in the penalty area. The Moldovan defender scored with a great shot, marking his second consecutive goal. Soon after, "Stumbras" managed to reduce the deficit: Tomas Snapkauskas headed in a corner kick by Jardel Nazare in the 67th minute. Shortly after, Alexandre Kore had a shot near the goal after a substitution on the pitch. Rokas Masenzovas sealed the victory in this match. The young "riteris" scored his first goal of the season in the 76th minute after a pass from N. Valskis. The debutant in the "Stumbras" team was Russian defender Maksim Jeremakov. Over the weekend, the Kaunas team will have to fight against Marijampolė's "Sūduva" in the semi-finals of the Lithuanian Football Federation (LFF) Cup - perhaps they prioritize these matches more.
