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Past week three matches were played in the women's football A league, after which the situation in the tournament table did not change significantly. After earning three points each, the teams "Gintra" and "Žalgiris"-MRU distanced themselves even further from the rest of the competitors, while "Banga" finally ended their losing streak of six consecutive defeats.
Results of the 12th round matches:
FK Gintra 2:0 FK Saned | FIFA+ match recording | FIFA+ match summary
MFA Žalgiris-MRU 5:1 FC Hegelmann | FIFA+ match recording | FIFA+ match summary
FK Utenos Utenis 0:4 FK Banga | FIFA+ match recording
Humble victory of the league champions. Last Wednesday, the 12th round of the championship started with the female footballers "Gintra" and "Saned". And although the excitement of last year's matches between these two teams is no longer present, the Šiauliai players had to work hard for their victory.
The start of the match, as expected, was better for the "Gintra" players, who were quite frequent guests near the opponent's goal. While attacking, the Šiauliai players barely managed to take the lead in the first third of the game - missing an opportunity with Juliet Sunday.
This episode did not discourage the Šiauliai girls and they continued to create chances, with the first goal falling in the 25th minute. A penalty was awarded for a handball in the penalty area, which was confidently converted by Rachel Diodati.
The "Gintra" players, who were even more fired up, attacked the opponent's goal even more intensively, and in the 33rd minute it seemed inevitable to double the lead. However, in that situation, "Saned" goalkeeper Teona Sukhashvili triumphed, repelling three very dangerous shots from the opponents.
"Saned" did not pose any real threat to the opponent's goal throughout the match, and "Gintra", after many missed chances, doubled the lead in the final minutes of the game with a strike from Abigail Sunday.
41 goals in 10 matches. Vilnius MFA "Žalgiris"-MRU players distanced the "Hegelmann" team even further from the trio of prize-winners. The Vilnius team not only won, but did so convincingly, building the foundation for victory before the halftime break.
We have already talked about the defensive problems of "Hegelmann" in the reviews of this season, so we won't say anything new. The seventh minute was anticipated when the Žalgiris players created their first opportunity, which turned into a goal. The Žalgiris players created an attack without obstacles on the right flank, Laura Ruzgutė passed the ball into the penalty area, Rachel Hawkins received the ball and struck at goal.
The joy of the Žalgiris players was overshadowed by the fact that the goal scorer was soon replaced due to injury by Karilė Liužinaitė, who later also celebrated with a goal. The second goal, scored in the middle of the half, was another great example of how unnecessary it is to defend. Starting the attack from their own penalty area, the Žalgiris players "cut through" the entire opponent's defense with two passes, and Aristelle Luise Yog Atouth escaped in front of the opponent's goalkeeper to double the lead.
In the second half, Ana Cheminava missed a penalty, but the opportunity to reduce the lead was seized by Karolina Zabolotnaja. However, at the end of the match, Busra Taskin and Laura Ruzgutė sealed the productive victory for the Vilnius team, allowing them to surpass the 40-goal mark.
"Banga" ends losing streak. Let's go back to the beginning of the season when "Banga" collected one victory after another and was at the top of the tournament table. At that time, the "tigers" had won four matches in a row, but all good things came to an end. One of the team's leaders, Vitalija Žatkina, suffered an injury, and her teammates entered a streak of six consecutive defeats. To be fair, the last few matches indicated that this streak was coming to an end, and last weekend - it finally did.
Dovilė Švarcaitė sent the ball into Darija Mikuckytė's goal without playing a minute, and although there were still 89 minutes left, it was clear that the "tigers" would not let go of their chance to earn three points.
Before the break, Viltė Švarcaitė, and in the second half Atėnė Streckytė and Austė Bernotaitė did what both the team and its fans had been waiting for a long time. It is worth noting that this victory in Gargždai was achieved without their leader Lijana Gedminaitė.
