September 20, 2026
With Kauno Zalgiris being drawn to be one of Brighton and Hove Albion’s opponents in the Europa Conference this was an opportunity to see them in action in their last league fixture before travelling to the Amex in mid-October.
These diaries had regularly covered the Lithuanian A-Lyga, with 17 reports to-date, with the last being a meeting between FC Hegelmann and FA Saiuliai back in March, which had ended in a 1-1 draw. 10 round-ups were published in 2020 as football returned from Covid and when the A-Lyga consisted of just 6 teams. There were also reviews of the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Kauno Zalgiris had featured in two match reports, a 2-1 home victory over Dziugas Telsiai and a disappointing 0-3 home reverse to FK Suduva, both in 2022.
A-Lyga Update
The A-Lyga was rebranded before the start of this season as TOPLYGA, and had consisted of 10 sides since 2021.
Following the unexpected success of FK Panevezys winning the title in 2023, normality returned in 2024 when FK Zalgiris won their 11th title. However, 2025 saw another surprise when Kauno Zalgiris won their first ever title, which gave them a place in this season’s Champions League qualifiers.
One unusual feature of the A-Lyga is that the early rounds are played indoors on artificial pitches until the weather improves so games can be played outdoors. Fatbear struggles to understand why the season in Lithuania can’t be scheduled to avoid having to play any matches in the indoor domes !
The 2026 season had now reached round 28 but the withdrawal of FK Riteriai early in the season due to financial difficulties, with their results expunged meant the season was now only 32 matches, so most sides would have only four more games to play after this week-end.
This was the last game of the weekend and leaders Suduva had already been held 1-1 at lowly Hegelmann after conceding a 95th minute penalty. Kauno therefore could go top by beating Saiuliai today. Transinvest had leapfrogged over FK Zalgiris after a 3-0 home victory to move into 3rd place, five points behind Suduva but one point ahead of FK Zalgiris.
With the demise of Riteriai there would be no automatic relegation this season, but Saiuliai needed a miracle to avoid the relegation play-off against the second-placed team in the Second Division, coming into today 9 points adrift of Hegelmann but with just 4 games left to play.
FK Kauno Zalgiris
There are two sides in Lithuania with the name Zalgiris. The Battle of Zalgiris in 1410, where an alliance between the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the German-Prussian Teutonic Knights, is considered to be one of the major milestones in the history of Lithuania, representing the victory of a repressed people, a symbol of national pride and symbol of struggle against foreign invaders.
Vilnius based FK Zalgiris are long standing stalwarts of club football in Lithuania. On the other hand, FK Kauno Zilgiris were only formed in 2004 in the second city of Kaunas, approximately 100 km west of the capital Vilnius, and adopted the Zalgiris moniker in 2014 when they became the football section of the Zalgiris Kaunas Basketball club. Understandably FK Zalgiris filed a complaint to the Lithuanian football league on the basis of league rules not allowing two teams to have the same name, and when this was not resolved, legal action followed. Matters were not helped by the new side also playing in green shirts, Zalgiris being Grunwald in German ( or Green Forest in English ). However, the football continues.
Kauno’s home is the 15,026 capacity Darius and Girenas Stadium, which is apparently the largest in the Baltics, and has a hybrid grass surface. Kauno returned to the stadium in 2023 after four years of renovations had finally been completed. Kauno’s nickname is The Green-Whites.
Kauno’s average attendance this season was 2,229, up from 1,835 last season. The grudge match against FK Zalgiris drew a crowd of 8,308.
Kauno Zalgiris Squad
There were 17 foreigners in the Kauno squad, but 6 of the 7 current international players were Lithuanian.
Left-winger Fedor Cernych ( 103 caps ) joined Kauno in 2024 after having played in Belarus, Poland, Russia, Cyprus and India, and midfielder Vykintas Slivka ( 74 caps ) was a youth player at Juventus, being loaned out to Gorica in Croatia and Den Bosch, before spending three seasons with Scottish side Hibernian. He had since played in Greece and Japan.
Midfielder Gratas Sirgėdas ( 27 caps ) had been with the club since 2020 so had been regularly mentioned in these diaries, and keeper Tomas Švedkauskas ( 15 caps ) started at Roma before going on to play on loan for several lower league sides in Italy, then joined Belgian side Lommel before returning to Lithuania, with Kauno being his 5th side in his homeland.
Centre-back Rokas Lekiatas ( 15 caps ) played over 100 times for Saiulial then had a short spell in Romania with U Craiova, whilst winger Motiejus Burba ( 6 caps ) was a junior at Crystal Palace and played for Sevenoaks before returning home to play for Dziugas, FK Zalgiris and Suduva before joining Kauno.
The international outlier was right-back Joris Moutachy, who had represented Martinique on 9 occasions.
Notable players from overseas included Croatian forward Gabriel Debeljuh, who appeared in these diaries whilst playing for CFR Cluj, ex-Hadjuk Split Australian midfielder Anthony Kalik featured here after scoring for Gorica, whilst journeyman Brazilian forward Renan Oliveira was ex-Zalgiris and had played in Slovakia, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Greece, Bosnia and Colombia.
Serbian full-back Marko Konatar had played over 100 times for Zeleznicar Pancevo in the Serbian top flight, Colombian centre-back Aldayr Hernadez had played for three sides in Finland, Georgian defender Anton Tolordava had played in Estonia, Kazakhstan, Serbia and for Telavi back home, whilst Kosovan full-back Lirim Kastrati had played for Ujpest and Widzew Lodz and had 15 caps, but the last of which was in 2023.
Croatian winger Leon Krekovic had played for Hajduk Split and Beerschot plus sides in Finland, Poland and Bosnia, Argentine midfielder Franco Baldassarra had played for Talleres and Greek side Panetolikos, Japanese midfielder Yukiyoshi Karashima was ex-Hegelmann and FK Zalgiris and had also played in Latvia for Riga and RFS, and HJK Helsinki, whilst French forward Fabien Ourega had played for Virton, FC Paris, Sochaux, Orleans, Zalgiris and Astana.
Ex-Lokeren, Charleroi and Kortrijk Belgian midfielder Amine Benchaib was the highest valued Kauno player according to Transfermrky at €800K, with Moutachy, Sirgedas and Burba rated at €600K. Benchaib was the top goalscorer so far this season with 10 goals.
Kauno Zalgiris In Europe
Until last season, Kauno had a pretty dismal record in European competitions, with the only tie won coming against Europa from Gibraltar, whilst the eliminations had been a 1-10 aggregate thrashing at the hands of The New Saints, plus heavy defeats to Apollon Limassol, Bodo/Glimt and Lech Poznan, although a 0-0 draw had been forced against Slovak side Ruzomberok after the away leg had been lost 0-2.
Last season though, Welsh side Penybont were eliminated 4-1 on aggregate, then Valur from Iceland were overcome 3-2 over two legs. The run ended after losing both legs to Bulgarian side Arda to go out 0-3 on aggregate.
In this year’s Champions League qualifiers, Kauno got past Kosovan side Drita, winning the second leg 3-2 in Pristina thanks to a 95th minute penalty by Benchaib after a 1-1 draw at home, then Kauno squeezed past Faroe Islands champions KI, drawing 0-0 in Torshavn before a late winner from Krekovic in the return. However, Dinamo Zagreb were too strong in the third qualifying round as Kauno crashed out of the Champions League 1-7 on aggregate.
Dropping down to the Europa League qualifiers, a 0-3 loss to Besiktas in Istanbul put paid to any hopes of progressing further although a consolation 1-0 home win was registered in front of a crowd 7,079 in Kaunas. However, the two wins in the Champions League qualifiers were enough to guarantee a place in the Europa Conference group stages, only the second time a side from Lithuania had achieved this, after FK Zalgiris in 2022/23.
Apart from Brighton, Kauno will have trips to Lugano and Albanian side Egnatia to look forward to, and will host Norwegian side Brann, Freiburg from Germany and a tasty Baltic derby against Riga.
FA Saiuliai
FA Saiuliai were founded in 2007 as a football academy and worked their way up the Lithuanian pyramid to achieve promotion to the A-Lyga for the 2022 season. With a squad of Lithuanian players, plus two from Ukraine, Saiuliai finished 3rd in 2023 to qualify for their only season in Europe, where they lost 0-2 on aggregate to Estonian side Levadia.
In the past two seasons Saiuliai had finished 7th and 5th, but came into today’s game with just 3 wins from 28 games. Only five of the squad that played in the game at Hegelmann in March were to be involved today as the revolving door principle seemed to be in operation to stop the rot, but with little success.
Last season their average attendance was 656 but this season it was only 385, with the highest attendance being 573 for the visit of Dziugas.
FA Saiuliai Squad
Despite their reputation as an academy for local talent, Saiuliai’s squad for the start of this season contained seven foreigners. Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva, more commonly known as Benny, had been on the books of Feyenoord and loaned to Dordrecht, whilst Ghanaian midfielder Divine Naah had been at Manchester City as a youth, and had subsequently appeared for NAC Breda, AFC Tubize and FC Nordsjaelland in addition to playing for sides in Norway, Sweden, Israel, Malta, Azerbaijan as well as several seasons at Kauno Zalgiris in Lithuania.
Full-backs Marko Mandic and Lazar Vukovic were from Serbia but Portuguese winger Rui Batalha had now left to return to Portugal, Danish midfielder Sammy Skytte had returned to the Faroe Islands and was now playing for NSI Runavik, and Nigerian centre-forward Chidera Nwoga had re-signed for FK Transinvest, his previous side in Lithuania. In their place came Ukrainian midfielder Artem Baftalovskyi who was a free agent after losing his job following the demise of Riteriai, and Bosnian midfielder Dino Hasonovic from Sloboda Tuzla.
Star midfielder Daniel Romanovskis ( 12 caps ) was back at the club after a brief spell with Dinamo Tbilisi, whilst right-back Martynas Dapkus ( 16 caps ) was ex-Kauno. Latvian forward Davis Ikaunieks ( 43 caps ) arrived in June from Kauno.
Brooklyn Leipus, who was a substitute in the Hegelmann game in March, was now playing for Didcot in the Southern League Division One South !
Previous Meetings This Season
In their first meeting this season played in Saiuliai, Kauno ran out comfortable 5-0 winners, but Saiuliai proved to be much tougher opposition in the return, forcing a 0-0 draw in Kaunas. However, Kauno made amends by winning their second home match 4-0.
Kauno had also beaten Saiuliai in the Lithuanian Cup, winning the semi-final in Saiuliai 1-0, and they now play second tier FK Minija Kretinga in the final the weekend before they go to Brighton.
Matchday Information
The journey from Kaunas to Saiuliai is approximately 145 kms and should normally take just over 2 hours. It looked like around 20 Kauno supporters had made the journey.
The match was being played at the Saiuliai Central Stadium, which has a capacity of 3,017. It has a grass pitch but a running track around the playing area. The obligatory ambulance was parked on the track behind one of the goals.
The weather at the 16.00 kick-off ( 14.00 UK time ) was dry and the temperature 18 degrees, and entrance to the game was €4.
The match was streamed live on the A-Lyga website and also on the TOPLYGA YouTube channel with a commentary in Lithuanian.
Bet365 made Kauno 3/10 favourites, with Saiuliai at 11/1 and the draw 10/3.
Kauno made three changes to the side that had lost 2-3 last time out at Zalgiris, with Kastrati, Hernandez and Slivka starting in place of Moutachy, Lekiatas and Karashima.
FA Saiuliai made one change from the side that drew their last match 0-0 at home to Hegelmann, with Augustas Valuckas replacing Deividas Dovydaitis
Kauno were playing in a change kit of white shirts with green shorts and white socks, whilst Saiuliai were wearing shirts with yellow and black stripes on the front, black sleeves and all yellow on the back, with black shorts and yellow socks.
Matchday Report
There was nearly a dramatic start to the match. With just over a minute played Saiuliai keeper Vilius Sivickas headed away a cross on the edge of his area when he probably could have caught it. Slivka dispossessed Dapkus in the middle of the Saiuliai half and slipped a pass for Benchaib to run on to, but the left-footed shot from 10 yards went over the bar.
In the 4th minute, Burba ran onto a long ball out of the Kauno defence and fell over in the Saiuliai penalty area when attempting to shoot, and Hasanovic put the ball out of play for a corner. The attempted short corner routine was botched and Valuckas was alert to intercept and clear.
Kauno regained possession deep inside their half and Kalik launched the ball forward for his attackers to chase. Krekovic managed to shrug off Vukovic to get a first-time left-footed shot away from the edge of the Saiuliai area, which the diving Sivickas pushed away diving to his left. Burba got to the loose ball first but his first-time effort from a tight angle flashed across the face of the goal and a narrowly wide of the far upright.
Kauno should have taken lead in the 8th minute. Kastrati picked up a pass from Kalik and ran at the Saiuliai defence and passed to Benchaib. A clever back-heel put Kastrati in space inside the Saiuliai area and he delivered a low ball across the 6-yard line from the right but Debuljuh mis-kicked in front of goal. The ball rolled past the far post and Dapkus’ attempted clearance hit Krekovic and ricoched off for a goal-kick.
Already it was looking just a matter of time before Kauno would open the scoring but Saiuliai then fashioned a half-chance of their own. Baftalovskyi’s flicked pass gave Dapkus some space to run onto down the right-wing, and a cross to beyond the far post found Valuckas, but his first time left-footed volley was blocked by the sliding Kastrati.
Shortly after, Debeljuh attempted to volley a right-wing cross from Burba and kicked Siauliai centre-back Edgaras Bierontas in the process and hurt himself, and needed some treatment. However, he was soon okay to continue. Some referees would have given a penalty, some a free-kick to Saiuliai, but play restarted with a goal-kick.
Kauno were nearly caught napping as Hasanovic spun past Slivka on the half-way line and lifted the ball over the square Kauno back-line. Naah ran onto the ball and was clear with just the keeper to beat, but his attempt to lift the ball over Svedkauskas was weak and the keeper was able to easily pat down and gather.
Kauno broke and Krekovic attempted to shoot from 25 yards but the ball bounced towards the keeper. Debeljuh stuck out a foot in an effort to divert the ball, but failed to make contact. In the meantime, Naah had stayed down in the Kauno area and the trainer came on to give some treatment, but it was probably more a case of the shame and embarrassment for squandering such a good chance !
In the 16th minute, Kalik who was controlling the midfield, played a ball out to the right-wing and the low ball towards the near post from Burba needed to be put out of play for a corner by the stretching Bierontas. Under pressure, Debeljuh could only head the corner high and harmlessly over the bar.
After 19 minutes, Ikaunieks forced the first corner for the home side. The corner was easily punched away by Svedkauskas and Kauno had a 3 versus 2 break-away, but after Burba teed up Debeljuh, the Croatian’s touch was poor and the ball rolled away for a goal kick.
Both sides then had a spell of possession but without creating any danger, although Kalik’s optimistic 30-yard effort was deflected well wide for a corner.
In the 24th minute Konatar was put into space on the left but his looping cross could only be headed high in the air by Debeljuh. Under pressure, Sivickas punched away from Slivka, and Dapkus hoofed clear.
Kauno continued to dominate but the Saiuliai defence was holding firm. On a rare foray into the Kauno half, Tolordava needed to produce an important sliding interception to prevent Romanovskis’ threaded through ball putting Ikaunieks clear.
The home side were nearly caught out trying to play around at the back when Benchaib charged down an attempted pass from the keeper and put the ball into the empty net. However, the ball had clearly struck the arm of the Belgian so the goal was disallowed and a free-kick awarded to Saiuliai.
With 33 minutes on the clock, the ball was chipped in from right by Kastrati but although Debeljuh’s header at back post was on target, it was saved low down by Sivickas.
The corner count continued to rack up in Kauno’s favour as Benny blocked a low cross from Konatar but Slivka’s header from the set-piece was high and wide.
Hasanovic then attempted to run into the Kauno half, but with the ball running away from him, his attempt to recover possession only succeeded in clattering into Burba, so the first yellow card of the game was shown in the 37th minute. The card count was quickly levelled up as Burba then jumped into Vukovic, making little effort to win the header.
Another quick Kauno break after Saiuliai had given away possession led to Krekovic’s ball into the Saiuliai area being headed high in the air by Vukovic as he attempted to make an interception, and Sivickas made the punch away ahead of Kalik and Slivka, and the referee deemed the keeper had been fouled.
Kauno then had grounds for a penalty as Vukovic jumped into Burba going for a header inside the Saiuliai area, but the referee deemed it to be an accidental collision. However, it didn’t look too different to the challenge that saw Burba earlier seeing yellow, apart being outside the penalty area !
Baftalovskyi won the second corner of the match for the home side, but Vukovic’s in-swinging delivery was headed away by Tolardava. The half ended with another corner to the visitors but from Krekovic’s delivery, Debeljuh’s goal-bound header hit his own player, and Saiuliai were able to clear.
Somehow it remained goal-less at the interval, but it felt like Kauno would be kicking themselves if they failed to go on and win this game.
The second half continued with Kauno on the attack and also immediately, a volley from Kastrati was bravely blocked by the head of Bierontas, who went down injured and play stopped for treatment. When play resumed, Kalik teed up Kastrati, whose 25-yard swerving effort was pushed with difficulty by Sivickas and loose ball hoofed away.
In the 50th minute, a cross from the left wing by Konatar was headed away but only as far to Benchaib, whose astute reverse pass across area enabled Slivka to shoot from close to the penalty spot, but Sivickas again dived to push the ball away for a corner.
Two minutes later, Kauno had another corner but slack defending by Saiuliai saw no defender tracking Kalik’s run to receive a short pass from Krekovic from the corner. The Australian midfielder had plenty of time to turn and pass to the unmarked Burba, who fired left-footed into the top corner from 12 yards. It was a super finish and Sivickas had no chance. 0-1 after 52 minutes
Kauno’s lead could have been doubled four minutes later when Krekovic was allowed to run into the Siauliai area, but his shot from 14 yards was pushed away by the diving Sivicka and Burba was unable to capitalise from the rebound but won a corner.
Kauno continued to press but Saiuliai defended manfully to keep them at bay, then against the run of play the home side put together a nice move of nearly 20 passes that ended with a low cross from Romanovskis being put over the bar on the turn by Ikaunieks from 10 yards.
In response, Benchaib looked to wriggle his way past a number of defenders inside the Saiuliai area but was crowded out.
With 71 minutes played, a Saiuliai free-kick came to nothing and on a quick break Renan Oliveira ran clear down the left wing and into the Saiuliai area, but the Brazilian could only smash his shot against the legs of the keeper and the ball bounced away for a corner.
The creative Benchaib then again ran into the Saiuliai area and got past two defenders but his attempt deflected off Benny for a corner.
After 77 minutes Sirgedas did well to make some space for himself, but his left-footed curling effort drifted a couple of feet wide of the Siauliai goalposts.
With the clock ticking, Saiuliai pushed forward but Karolis Zebrauskas’ cross was headed away and Bierontas’ hasty snap shot sailed high and wide. With less than 10 minutes of normal time remaining Dapkus pushed over Benchaib as he threatened to break into the Saiuliai half, so another yellow card was brandished.
The tackles were flying in and Dapkus was perhaps a little fortunate not to see a second yellow card after a challenge on Renan Oliveira, which perhaps the Brazilian made a meal of.
With four minutes remaining Kalik went down with what appeared to be cramp but Dapkus sportingly gave him some treatment.
With the end of the game approaching, Saiuliai pressed but the final pass was lacking, and Kauno comfortably defended.
In the 89th minute, Kauno substitute Moutachy made a strong run and offloaded to Benchaib, but his 20-yard curling left-footed effort drifted well wide.
With the clock on 90 minutes, Benchaib was shown a yellow card for a challenge on Vukovic, whose over-dramatic fall ensured the sanction.
As the game drifted into added on time, Kauno finally clinched the three points. Sirgedas headed a goal-kick on to Benchaib, and then ran on to receive the return pass inside the penalty area. Looking up, Sirgedas prodded a left-footed pass across the 6-yard line where Baldassarra nipped in ahead of Mandic to stab home. 0-2 in the 92nd minute.
With this victory, Kauno returned to the top of the table, but their next two match are likely to determine the destination of the title. First, Kauno travel to Suduva, following which they host FK Zalgiris. Kauno’s final fixture is away at third placed Transinvest, so they have the harder run in than Suduva.
Saiuliai now looked doomed to the relegation play-off, being 9 points adrift of Hegelmann with three matches remaining, which they would have to win all three, hope Hegelmann lose their last three games, and make up an adverse goal difference of 17 goals.
For Brighton watching supporters, Albion had already beaten Tromso 4-0 at the Amex, and on paper Kauno look to be weaker than the Norwegians. On today’s evidence, Kauno’s key players appeared to be Kalik to control the midfield, with Benchaib, Slivka, Kastrati and Burba to create some danger. Their back four would presumably face a far greater challenge than Saiuliai presented today, irrespective of what side Albion fielded in the Conference League.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIz_QrAz9Zg
FA Saiuliai : Sivickas – Dapkus, Benny, Bierontas, Vukovic – Baftalovskyi, Hasanovic ( Mandic ), Romanovskis, Naah ( Gustas ), Valuckas ( Zebrauskaus ) - Ikaunieks
FK Kauno Zalgiris : Svedkauskas – Kastrati ( Moutachy ), Tolordava, Hernandez, Konatar – Burba ( Sirgedas ), Benchaib, Kalik ( Cernych ), Slivka –Delbeljuh ( Renan Oliveira ), Krekovic ( Baldassarra )
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