New era begins in Alytus: Dainava claim first win of the season under coach Orazov

The 17th round of the TOPsport A Lyga brought long-awaited joy to Alytus, where DFK Dainava finally secured their first league victory of the season. Under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Mergen Orazov, the Alytus side defeated FK Banga Gargždai 2–1, with Krystian Okoniewski scoring the winning goal in stoppage time.

Orazov, a former manager of the Turkmenistan national team, was announced just hours before kickoff and immediately injected fresh energy into the squad. Although he made no major changes to the starting lineup, Ivan Koshkosh returned from suspension to strengthen the midfield. Meanwhile, Banga—coming off two consecutive away wins—made only one change, bringing in Latvian striker Aivars Emsis as they looked to extend their good run of form.

Earlier this season, the two sides met in Gargždai, where Banga secured a narrow 2–1 win against a Dainava side that, until today, remained winless and rooted firmly at the bottom of the table.

The match started with pressure from Banga. Early on, Vaidas Magdušauskas found Ignas Venckus in space, but Dainava goalkeeper Airidas Mickevičius rushed out smartly to defuse the threat. Soon after, Akpe Victory nearly opened the scoring from a corner.

Banga continued to test the hosts and were rewarded in the 35th minute after Maksym Maksymenko handled the ball in the box. Magdušauskas stepped up and confidently converted the penalty to give the visitors a 1–0 lead.

Dainava had few clear chances before halftime, but they grew into the match in the second half. The turning point came in the 76th minute when Davor Rakić was brought down in the penalty area. Polish striker Krystian Okoniewski calmly converted the spot kick to make it 1–1.

That goal ignited Dainava’s belief, and in stoppage time, the breakthrough finally came. In the 93rd minute, a cross aimed at Artiom Baftalovski wasn’t well controlled, but the ball fell perfectly to Okoniewski, who buried it for his second of the game—securing Dainava’s first win of the 2025 season and sending the Alytus crowd into celebration.

With the dramatic 2–1 win, Dainava climb to 7 points, while Banga remain on 21 and in 7th place.

DFK Dainava Alytus vs FK Banga Gargždai – 2:1 (0:1)
Goals: Okoniewski 77′ (Penalty kick) 90+3′ | Magdušauskas 36′ (Penalty kick)
DAI: Mickevičius, Stočkunas, Maksymenko, Oostenbrink, Zabita, Chikovani (Kodz 62′), Baftalovskyi, Okoniewski, Pavloski (Ževžikovas 62′), Koshkosh, Rakic
BAN: Bertašius, Antužis, Simao (Elo 88′), Victory, Figueredo, Malžinskas, Magdušauskas (Toleikis 88′), Ramanauskas, Venckus (Norvilas 83′), Emsis (El Harmazi 80′), Šrebalius

A Lyga Matchday 17 games:

• 24.06.2025 – FK Kauno Žalgiris vs FK Paņevežys – 3:0
• 24.06.2025 – FK Žalgiris vs FC Hegelmann– 0:1
• 24.06.2025 – DFK Dainava Alytus vs FK Banga Gargždai – 2:1
• 25.06.2025 – FC Džiugas Telšiai vs FK Riteriai – 19:00
• 25.06.2025 – FA Šiauliai vs FK Sūduva – 19:00