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After the defeat in the Lithuanian championship match, VMFD "Žalgiris" head coach Damiras Petravičius admitted that Panevėžys "Ekranas" played a more mature football.
The victorious journey of the Vilnius City Football League team "Žalgiris" in the "General Financing A League" championship was interrupted on Saturday in Panevėžys. In the match of the fifth round, the Žalgiris team lost 0-1 (0-0) to the champions defending their title, the footballers of "Ekranas".
The victory for the Panevėžys team was secured by an 56th-minute goal scored by Mantas Savėnas.
"Congratulations to 'Ekranas' on the victory. Today they were better than us. The opponents played a more mature football. It's painful to lose, but it's just the beginning of the championship. The season is long. There are many more matches ahead. We will analyze mistakes and try not to repeat them," - said VMFD "Žalgiris" head coach Damiras Petravičius after the match. - "In the first half, we played very poorly. After the break, the game improved, but we lacked a precise final pass."
For Calum Elliot, who scored seven goals in the championship, the match against "Ekranas" was the first game in which he failed to score. D. Petravičius said after the match that the team's attacking leader played well, but the opponents smartly defended against C. Elliot.
"Calum played well. He worked hard, moved a lot, but the experienced 'Ekranas' defenders didn't give him space. In the first half, he created an opportunity, but lacked precision," - regretted D. Petravičius, remembering C. Elliot's attempt to lob the ball over the goalkeeper.
In the defeat, the coach also saw some benefits. "After the victory against 'Sūduva', the players were too confident. I noticed it during training. I asked them not to fly too high, but to come back down to earth. It seemed like they understood, but in the match against 'Ekranas' there was a lack of fire from the players. I hope this lesson will only benefit the team," said D. Petravičius.
“Ekranas” head coach Valdas Urbonas was delighted with the hard-fought victory and the return of the team's self-confidence.
"After a tough start to the championship, many had negative opinions about our game. I'm glad that the team demonstrated that 'Ekranas' is alive. I thank the great atmosphere created by the fans in the stadium. Their support was very important to us," said V. Urbonas after the match. - "The team played well in the first half. After the break, we gave the initiative to the opponents, but still managed to score a goal. I thank the players for their fighting spirit. Today we proved that we can play good football."
“Ekranas” coach admitted that the match was very tough because this year VMFD “Žalgiris” team is well-equipped and shows good gameplay. "But today we were better and achieved a deserved victory," V. Urbonas concluded.
To redeem themselves in front of their fans, Žalgiris will play on Wednesday in the first leg of the Lithuanian Football Federation Cup semi-final against Marijampolės "Sūduva”. The match, which will take place at the Lithuanian Football Federation Stadium, will start at 7 p.m.
