Two steps to the title: who will step into the futsal final?

2024-03-02 15:09 © E. Šemioto

In the Lithuanian „TOPsport futsal A league“, the semi-final stage starts on Tuesday, where four teams that have successfully overcome the quarterfinals will compete in series up to two wins. The champion „Kaunas Žalgiris“ is set to face Vilkaviškis „Bruklinas“, while the vice-champions „Vikings“ will play against „Akmenės kraštas“.

„Kaunas Žalgiris“ - „Bruklinas“

March 6, 21:00. Kaunas sports hall

March 10, 15:00. Vilkaviškis sports and entertainment center

The teams „Kaunas Žalgiris“ and „Bruklinas“, after playing very different quarterfinal series, are meeting in the semi-finals with different moods. The Kaunas team talks only about victory, while the Vilkaviškis team is preparing for a celebration for the team's fans.

It is worth mentioning that in the quarterfinals, the champions easily dealt with the „Kėdainiai United“ team, while „Bruklinas“ secured their spot after a series of three matches, where they eliminated the Mažeikiai VIP footballers just two days ago.

„We expect tough matches. The opponent is well-known and deserves respect, as not every team reaches the cup final and championship semi-final. They deserve it and we respect them, so we will enter the court fully focused to achieve a positive result.

„Bruklinas“ had a good series against VIP. Two teams of similar level, as evidenced by the regular season of the championship, and the quarterfinal series showed that both teams are good. We didn't discuss who would be better. We have „Bruklinas“ to overcome if we want to play in the final“, - said Justinas Zagurskas.

„The history with „Žalgiris“ is not very optimistic, but is there a team that could boast results against „Žalgiris“. We have some players missing due to injuries, but we want to fight and give our fans some beautiful moments in this stage. It's hard to expect a three-game series, so maybe it's better to fight for a place on the podium this season“, - evaluated Gintaras Čibirka, assessing his team's chances.

„Vikings“ - „Akmenės kraštas“

March 5, 20:00. Jonava sports arena

March 9, 19:00. New Akmenė sports and health center arena

The teams that took second and third places this season collected the same number of points, and their distribution in the table was determined only by the results of their matches against each other. „Vikings“ have the advantage over „Akmenės kraštas“ in this regard, so in case of decisive third series matches, they would take place in Jonava.

Both future series participants overcame the quarterfinal barrier in two matches, despite the fact that it was not easy for either team. This is evidenced by the fact that both „Vikings“ and „Akmenės kraštas“ had to play overtime.

„Even if we look past the results, our performance in the quarterfinals was good. For example, in the first matches, we did not concede a goal and controlled the game throughout. The second matches were more difficult. That was expected because we played without several injured players. We had to play more cautious football, and although we won only after overtime, I never doubted that we would advance to the semi-finals.

Speaking of injured players, we must not forget about Oscar (Hernandez), who would have certainly helped in the quarterfinal series with his individual skills and provided rest for the other players.

Anyway, the quarterfinal stage is over, and we have to think about the semi-finals. We will face „Akmenės kraštas“ - a team with high ambitions. They have a team with capable legionnaires who have established a good connection with the Lithuanian players in the team. I have no doubt that the fight for a place in the final will be tough“, - said „Vikings“ representative Paulius Osauskas.