By Titas Teiten
As the Lithuanian football season draws to a close, excitement is building for its final showdowns. While the A Lyga championship wraps up on November 8th, we already know the two teams set to clash in the much-anticipated LFF Cup final. On September 28th at 4 P.M. local time, FK Panevėžys and FC Hegelmann will face off in a match that promises to capture the attention of football fans across the country.
Let’s break down how both teams have performed this season, analyze who holds the upper hand ahead of the final, and uncover some key storylines that make this clash one of the most anticipated matches of the year.
What makes this final particularly interesting is that, for the first time since 2022, it won’t be held at Kaunas’ recently inaugurated 15,000-seat Darius and Girėnas Stadium. Instead, the showdown will take place in Jonava, at a far more modest venue with just 2,580 seats.
“The FPRO LFF Cup final is coming to Jonava for the very first time, and we want to express our sincere thanks to both the Jonava and Kaunas District municipalities and their mayors for agreeing to host this event and contribute to its organization. Jonava Central Stadium is rightly considered one of the coziest and best stadiums in the country, so we believe that the fans will fill the stands, cheer loudly for their teams, and create an unforgettable atmosphere that will help one of the teams claim the title,” said LFF president Edgaras Stankevičius.
For FK Panevėžys, this will be their third appearance in the final. In 2020, they defeated Sūduva Marijampolė on penalties in front of their home crowd, but the following season they fell to Žalgiris Vilnius in the final held in Šiauliai.
For FC Hegelmann, this will also be their third shot at the title. However, they have yet to claim the trophy: in 2022, they lost to Žalgiris Vilnius after extra time, and last season they were defeated by Banga Gargždai in a penalty shootout.
For Andrius Skerla’s men, this final feels like the perfect chance to finally claim the first trophy in the club’s history. With 56 points from 29 games, FC Hegelmann are on track to secure another top-three finish in the A Lyga, just as they did last season. While winning the league title may be out of reach, a second-place finish looks well within their grasp, a result that would underline the team’s consistency over the past two seasons and signal a bright future for a club that hasn’t even reached its 20th anniversary.
After selling two players earlier this season, a remarkable achievement for a Lithuanian club, FC Hegelmann were on the verge of completing a third transfer. Nigerian striker Abdel Kader Njoya was set to join Norwegian side Sandefjord in a deal worth over €250,000. However, the move ultimately fell through, and Njoya will remain with Hegelmann, where he is expected to play a decisive role in the upcoming Lithuanian Cup final.
Other key figures for the Kaunas district side include Leo Ribeiro, currently second in the A Lyga assist rankings, the talented and battle-tested centre-back Vilius Armalas, and team captain Klaudijus Upstas, who anchors the defense from the right-back position.
Hegelmann’s road to the 2025 cup final was anything but straightforward. They opened their campaign with a comfortable 6:0 win over amateur side VGTU Vilkai in the Round of 32, but the challenge quickly grew tougher. In the Round of 16, they faced FK Transinvest, the leaders of the second division and likely future A Lyga newcomers, and scraped through with a hard-fought 1:0 victory in Širvintos. The quarter-finals brought another test against a strong FA Šiauliai side, but Andrius Skerla’s men delivered a convincing 3:1 win to book their place in the semis.
The semi-final clash with Džiugas Telšiai turned out to be their toughest test yet. After conceding the opening goal, Hegelmann looked to be on the brink of elimination until Vilius Armalas dramatically equalized in the 89th minute and then struck again in extra time to seal a place in the final.
For FK Panevėžys, the 2025 season has been far from ideal. Inconsistent performances have kept them from challenging for the top spots in the A Lyga, leaving them with just 38 points from 29 matches and sitting in seventh place – a disappointing outcome for a team expected to fight for European competition, given the quality of their squad.
Head coach Roland Vrabec has faced speculation about his future several times throughout the season due to poor results. Yet, despite the struggles, he now has the chance to salvage the campaign by guiding Panevėžys to a cup triumph, a trophy that could transform an otherwise difficult season into one worth remembering.
Among the squad’s key players is Lucas De Vega, a creative attacking midfielder who has been instrumental for FK Panevėžys this season and is expected to play a pivotal role in the final. The team also benefits from the experience of goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas, reliable centre-back Justinas Januševskij, and versatile winger Ernestas Veliulis, whose presence adds valuable depth and stability to the lineup.
FK Panevėžys kicked off their cup campaign in style with a statement 13:0 thrashing of amateur side Trivartis Vilnius. They followed it up with a comfortable 3:0 victory over Garliava in the Round of 16, before cruising past second-division club FK Jonava with a 4:1 win in the quarter-finals.
Their biggest test came in the semi-finals, where they faced A Lyga’s third-best team this season, Sūduva Marijampolė, and delivered a surprise by defeating them 2:0 on the road to book their spot in the final.
An interesting twist adds even more weight to this year’s final. If FK Panevėžys lift the trophy, they will secure a place in next season’s UEFA Conference League qualifiers, but at the same time, they would deny the fourth-placed team in the A Lyga a European spot. With Panevėžys currently sitting seventh and unlikely to break into the top four with just seven matches remaining, this cup win may be their only path to Europe.
On the other hand, if Hegelmann claim the title, the top four teams in the A Lyga would all qualify for European competition in 2026, keeping the league’s allocation intact.
As expected, FC Hegelmann enter this highly anticipated final as the favorites. Their consistent presence in the A Lyga’s top three, coupled with their near-misses in previous LFF Cup finals (2022 and 2024), reinforces their status and perceived superiority over Panevėžys.
That said, nothing is set in stone. In a single-match final, anything can happen, and both teams know just how much is at stake. Either side has the quality and determination to lift the trophy after 90 or even 120 minutes of play.
The match will be broadcast live on both the LRT PLIUS channel and the LRT.lt website.
