The first league round: stopping the "Riteriai" horses and loud BFA chords

2024-06-16 11:00 © lff.lt

“TOPsport Pirma lyga“ 14th round coincided with the start of the European Championship in Germany. The league clubs thanked the fans for not forgetting about the international football celebration and local competitions, with selfless fighting and unexpected results.

Intrigue. Vilnius “Riteriai“ slightly halted their horses, which had triumphed through the First League stadiums. The leaders of the championship stumbled in Kėdainiai themselves when, after just two minutes of play, they gifted a penalty kick to Kėdainiai “Nevėžis“. Japanese Hirotaka Yamada, standing at the spot, did not back down from the duel with experienced goalkeeper Armantas Vitkauskas and scored his fifth goal in the league. Despite the efforts of the Vilnius team to equalize, the hosts held on and celebrated a 1-0 victory.

“Riteriai“'s stumble inspired Klaipėda “Neptūnas“. The closest pursuers of the Vilnius team defeated Kauno rajono "Hegelmann" reserves 5-0 on the same day. The Kaunas team, with no main team players present, relied solely on their youth, who were no match for the more experienced Klaipėda team. Thanks to the victory, “Neptūnas“ reduced the gap from “Riteriai“ (29 points) to a minimum and could become the leader of the championship this weekend if they beat the „Bangos“ reserves from Gargždai.

Front. The Jonava team „Be1“ also aims for the leader's flag. The Jonavans defended their stronghold hard in the confrontation with Tauragė “Tauras“. The hosts were led 17 minutes into the game by Deitonas Vinckus, but after the break, Korean Lee Minwoo restored the balance to 1-1 in a somewhat bizarre situation. However, the guests' joy lasted only three minutes, as center-back Matas Dedura nodded the ball into the net after a corner kick, scoring his first goal of the season - 2-1. The „Be1“ team is 3 points behind the top spot, but has played one game less. Jonava will face a particularly important match in the next round away against “Riteriai“.

The top trio is pursued by Plungė “Babrungas“, feeling the breath of “Nevėžis“ on their necks. Plungė residents scraped off three points against Gargždai “Banga“ B after Valdas Jašmantas' powerful head shot put them ahead 1-0. Shortly after, the Gargždai team could have equalized the score, but Plungė's goalkeeper Darius Kublickas saved the day. The “Babrungas“ goalkeeper had to work hard to keep the opponents at bay, while Gargždai's Lukas Grinkevičius also had his fair share of work. Plungė remains in fourth place with 23 points, but “Nevėžis“, trailing by two points, has a game in hand.

Stars. Vilnius BFA team may also succeed. The young Vilnius players significantly improved their goal scoring stats this weekend. They demolished the defense of “Šiauliai“ B with a remarkable 7-0 victory at home. The match plan was disrupted for the guests in the middle of the first half when they received a red card, while Vilnius led by only one goal. The youngest player on the team, 15-year-old forward Žygimantas Jurevičius, also contributed to the biggest victory of the season. BFA boys returned to sixth place, but aim to climb to fourth place based on lost points.

Kretinga “Minija“ is walking hand in hand with BFA. Thiago Bomfimo's players extended their winning streak in the Samogitian derby with a 3-1 victory over Mažeikiai “Atmosfera“. In this match, the stars of the “TOPsport Pirma lyga“ from May and April met face to face - Nigerian Donald Manuchimas Ogundu and Ukrainian Rostislav Bielovas. Both their individual clash and team result (3-1) ended in favor of “Minija“ and their Ukrainian goalkeeper.

Neighbors. In the 14th round, both representatives of Panevėžys were lucky. “Ekranas“ returned to the path of victory, overcoming “Kauno Žalgiris“ youth in their own field with a score of 2-0. The Kaunas team, whose A league team players were sidelined due to injuries, had to play without the help of senior players. The only player from the A league who helped them was 21-year-old Nigerian Oyinlola Kayode, who missed a round in the A league due to disqualification. „Ekranas“ pushed the Kaunas team away from the 11th place with 17 points.

“Ekranas“ still can't overtake their neighbors from “Panevėžys“ B team. The Lithuanian champions' reserves defeated “Garliava“ 2-1. The team from Kaunas region, playing at home, failed to deal with defender Andriy Karvatsky. The Ukrainian scored a brace (3rd and 54th minute), while the hosts only responded with a goal from Rodrigo Pedro in the 80th minute. “Garliava“ remains at the bottom of the table with 8 points, trailing “Banga“ B by 1 point and “Šiauliai“ B by 3 points.

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