Lithuanian Toplyga leaders and defending champions FK Kauno Žalgiris were denied all three points in dramatic fashion on Sunday evening, conceding deep into stoppage time in a 1-1 draw away against FK Panevėžys.
The visitors made the perfect start and took the lead already in the ninth minute thanks to a major mistake from veteran goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas. After a strong individual run by Yukiyoshi Karashima, the Japanese winger fired in a relatively comfortable effort, but Černiauskas allowed the ball to slip through under his arm and into the net to hand the champions an early advantage.
Panevėžys had an immediate chance to respond. Kwadwo Asamoah first forced a superb save from Tomas Švedkauskas, but the Ghanaian somehow blasted the rebound over the bar from point-blank range with the goal at his mercy. The hosts continued to threaten and before halftime Asamoah again came close, this time rattling the crossbar with a header following a set-piece delivery.
Kauno Žalgiris looked dangerous on the counter after the break and nearly doubled their lead when captain Fedor Černych found space inside the area, only to miss the top corner from close range.
One of the defining moments of the match arrived in the 75th minute when both teams cleared the ball off the line within seconds of each other. First, after a Panevėžys corner, Salomon Kouadio’s header appeared destined for the corner before Amine Benchaib blocked it on the line. Kauno Žalgiris instantly launched a two-on-one counterattack, ending with Leo Ribeiro attempting to chip the goalkeeper, but Matas Ramanauskas sprinted back to clear the ball away before it crossed the line.
The drama continued deep into stoppage time. Motiejus Burba had a huge chance to finish the game after a defensive error left him one-on-one, but Justinas Januševskis recovered brilliantly to deny the striker before he could shoot. That miss proved costly.
Just over a minute later, substitute Isaac Asante struck again. The winger, who had already scored in each of his previous two appearances off the bench, cut in from the left side and fired an unstoppable finish beyond Švedkauskas to rescue a point for Panevėžys.
Asante has now scored in three consecutive matches, while Kauno Žalgiris dropped valuable points at the top of the table, allowing surprise challengers FC Džiugas Telšiai to close the gap to four points.
FK Panevežys vs FK Kauno Žalgiris – 1-1 (0-1)
Goals: Asante 90+4′ | Karashima 9′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Kauno Žalgiris |
13 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 33 | 10 | 23 | 28 |
| 2 |  Džiugas Telšiai |
13 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 24 |
| 3 |  Transinvest |
13 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 22 |
| 4 |  FK Banga |
13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 20 | 11 | 9 | 19 |
| 5 |  FK Žalgiris |
13 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 19 | 14 | 5 | 19 |
| 6 |  FK Sūduva |
13 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 18 |
| 7 |  FK Panevėžys |
13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 13 | 21 | -8 | 15 |
| 8 |  FC Hegelmann |
13 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 19 | -8 | 13 |
| 9 |  FA Šiauliai |
13 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 22 | -11 | 12 |
| 10 |  FK Riteriai |
13 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 | 34 | -31 | 3 |
