October 24, 28 & 31
Cup Final : Saturday 24th October
FK Panevezys 1-1 FK Suduva ( att : 1,000 )
Panevezys won 5-4 after penalties
Panevezys ended the season on high, overcoming Suduva in a penalty shoot-out to win the Lithuanian Cup for the first time, which also gave them their first ever qualification for European Competition. Inspired by this they then collected four points from their last two matches to move off the bottom of the table ahead of Riteriai thanks to a better head to head record.
In the Cup Final, played in Panevezys, the hosts took the lead in the 22nd minute through a neat finish from midfielder Ernestas Veliulis, running on to Eliosius’ incisive pass and rounding keeper Kardum. Veliulis’ recent form has seen him earn a recall to the national squad for this week’s matches, where he will he hoping to add to his one cap in 2016.
Suduva responded immediately, and Eliosius, who has also had a national team recall, quickly turned from hero to villain, bringing down Slavickas to prevent him getting to the loose ball after Broetto had bravely saved from Oliveria. The Brazilian made no mistake from the spot.
The rest of the game was cagey with chances few and far between. The best chance fell to Suduva’s Zivanovic in the first minute of extra time, but he made a poor contact with his header and Broetto was able to claw the ball away. Suduva’s chances in the penalty shoot-out were probably hampered when Argentinian playmaker Gorobsov received a harsh second yellow card with three minutes of extra time to play, the referee no doubt being influenced by Eliosius’ exaggerated fall.
The first 8 penalties of the shoot-out were convincingly despatched, but then Zivanovic’s attempt was well saved by Broetto diving low to his right. Elivelto held his nerve to clinch a historic victory for Panevezys.
Wednesday 28th October
FK Riteriai 1-1 FK Panevezys ( att : 150 )
0-1 Kruzikas ( 54 ), 1-1 Filipavicius ( 82 )
Sunday 31st October
FK Paneveyzs 1-1 FK Banga Gargdzai vs ( att : 250 )
1-0 Elias ( 13 ), 1-1 Matos ( 22 )
FK Kauno Zalgiris 1-0 FK Riteriai ( att : 300 )
1-0 Otele ( 52 )
FK Zalgiris vs FK Suduva ( postponed )
The big news of the last round of matches in the A-Lyga was the postponement of the “winner takes all” tie between FK Zalgiris and Suduva due to a reported 19 cases of Covid in the Suduva camp. Suduva requested that the match be played over the weekend of November 21st to allow their squad to recover and regain full fitness, but the Lithuanian FA have decreed that the fixture is to be played on Saturday November 14th. Lithuania have a Nations League International in Belarus on the Sunday, and Zalgiris have 4 players named in the Lithuanian squad ( keeper Gertmonas, defender Mikoliunas, and midfielders Simkus and Vorobjovas ). However, it has been decided that these players will play in the title decider. Suduva do not have anyone in the national squad and are also unlikely to be affected by call-ups by any other country. The LFA have also stated that the match is to be played behind closed doors due to the worsening situation in Lithuania.
Meanwhile, Kauno’s victory over Riteriai, in a match played on the artificial pitch at the National Football Academy in Kaunas ensured that Riteriai finished bottom of the 6 team league as a result of Panevezys getting a point in their game with Banga. Kauno’s third place had been confirmed sometime ago.
Saturday 14th November
FK Zalgiris vs FK Suduva ( 15.00 local/13.00 UK )
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