„Žalgirio“ coach Vladimiras Čeburinas and defender Paulius Golubickas thanked the fans and players after the second victory in the UEFA Conference League against a Finnish club, acknowledging that the match had its difficult moments.

After two matches against VPS, Žalgiris had a 2:1 advantage following a victory in Finland. In the second match in Vilnius, they managed to score a goal at the end of the first half, win 1:0, and advance to the next stage.

„I want to express my gratitude to the fans - it was very pleasant to participate in the match. We expected a tough game. We knew the opponent would put a lot of pressure on us. In the first half, that pressure caused us some problems. In the middle of the first half, after the first 15 minutes, we had more control over the ball, but there were a lot of mistakes, especially in the final passes. We created serious pressure on the opponent's goal ourselves, attacked, managed to score a goal practically into the locker room, in the last seconds of the half. In the second half, we made adjustments to our strategy. We had control of the ball, created opportunities. The opponent was ready for quick counterattacks. They started those long passes already in the first half. It was expected. Compliments to our players, they did a good job“, said V. Čeburinas.

 

„The emotions are good, a hard-fought victory. The most important thing is that we advanced to the next stage. We played well, didn't allow the opponent to create dangerous moments. We had them ourselves, but luck was missing. It was nice to play at home, thanks to all the fans. The atmosphere was great. After last season, it was nice to remember all the chants. Thank you to the supporters. It's great that we pleased them with a win. I hope they will come in numbers to support us in the next matches“, said P. Golubickas.

 

The next match, Žalgiris will play against the Cypriot club "Pafos", which dropped out of the UEFA Europa League.

„In each stage, the opponent will be more serious. This opponent (VPS) is also not as weak as in the first stage. The strongest teams advance to the group stages”, said V. Čeburinas.

„We will need to analyze the opponents, but I think they will be a stronger team than the Finns. We will need more focus, more fight, more quality. There were moments when it was harder to play both away and here. Although the opponent will be stronger, they can be beaten. I believe in the team, the goal is one - to advance to the next stage“, said P. Golubickas.

The first matches between Žalgiris and Pafos will take place on July 25 in Vilnius.