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"A Lyga" championship leaders, the footballers of "Ekranas," are preparing for the most important matches of this season. On Thursday at 18:00 at the "Aukštaitija" stadium in Panevėžys, they will face the leader of the Irish football championship, "Cork City" - these will be the first matches of the UEFA Cup qualifying round. On Tuesday, before training, the head coach of "Ekranas" team, Virginijus Liubšys, stated that he is trying not to overemphasize this preparation. The biggest concern for him is the injured players. However, he hopes that the opportunity to prove their worth will be given to those footballers who seek to establish themselves in the main lineup. The team will be without Aurimas Kučys, who suffered a serious knee injury, and his season is likely over. He will be sorely missed when facing the tall Irish footballers. Also missing in the first international matches of this season will be Donatas Petrauskas, who is still recovering from an injury. According to the coach, it is expected that he will recover in time for the rematch on July 28 in Cork. There are also many questions about the performance of the team's veteran Audrius Banevičius on the field. The coach expressed hope that he would play, and even indicated that a different tactic would be created with him. "If A. Banevičius is not playing, the team will play with three defenders, five midfielders, and two forwards, but if he plays - with four defenders, four midfielders, and two forwards," V. Liubšys said. However, the player himself had serious doubts about his ability to play on Thursday. The coach spoke very highly of the future opponents. According to him, the Irish team stands out with full-backs who can perfectly pass the ball to the forwards, who are also known for their skill. V. Liubšys stated that the team's goal is victory by any means. He also emphasized that it is very important not to concede a goal playing at home. The coach mentioned that no matter how the match ends, everything should be decided in Ireland. "The team's mood is not bad, the men are ready, of course, the heat is somewhat distracting, but once the match starts, everything will be forgotten, all forces will be given, an uncompromising battle awaits, and the spectators should enjoy it," V. Liubšys concluded. The team captain Mantas Savėnas agreed with the coach that the team is determined to fight only for victory - neither he nor the other players lack motivation, as everyone understands the importance of the match. Assessing the team's chances of successfully overcoming this stage, M. Savėnas stated that the first match in Panevėžys will be crucial: "If we manage to win and not concede a goal - we will have excellent chances to compete in the next stage, I myself predict that we will win 2-0. Also important is whether luck will be on our side." One of the key defenders of "Ekranas," Arūnas Klimavičius, said that they are expecting a very tough battle with the opponents' forwards. The main goalkeeper of the Panevėžys team, Arvydas Skrupskis, agreed with V. Liubšys' idea that conceding a goal is not an option, but he stressed that the performance of our defenders will have a big influence on that. Meanwhile, forward Povilas Lukšys was upbeat and said that the most important thing is to win and promised to score at least one goal. The opponents of the "Ekranas" team, "Cork City," arrived in Panevėžys on Tuesday and in the evening began preparing for the match.
