FK Žalgiris Vilnius midfielder Ivan Lytvynenko said the club’s remarkable UEFA Conference League turnaround against Dinamo Tbilisi was the kind of night that makes the setbacks worthwhile.
Žalgiris lost the second qualifying round first leg 3-0 in Tbilisi, but produced a 7-2 win in Vilnius a week later to progress 7-5 on aggregate. Lytvynenko told Ukrainian outlet UkrFootball the away defeat was “emotionally difficult”, adding: “Now I understand that in Tbilisi it simply wasn’t our day. In the second half we played much better and hardly allowed them to create anything.”
He said the squad drew clear lessons from the first leg and backed the coaches’ plan in the return match. “We relied on those conclusions, listened to the coaches, their plan worked and we did everything we could,” he said.
Žalgiris also had to reset between the European ties, with Lytvynenko pointing to a domestic match in which they twice fell behind before winning 3-2 late on as another test of character. For the second leg against Dinamo, he said the approach was simple: “All or nothing.”
The Lithuanian champions went in level at 1-1 at half-time, and Lytvynenko said there were few words in the dressing room. “We looked each other in the eyes and said we would give everything,” he said. “We returned to the pitch believing we would score and change the game. We understood Dinamo didn’t feel confident in our stadium.”
After the break, Žalgiris surged clear, but a long-range strike in the 72nd minute brought Dinamo back to 3-2 on the night. Lytvynenko said the response was calm. “I looked at the scoreboard and saw there were still 22 minutes left. We had already scored three, so I thought: why can’t we score two more?”
Forward Stanislav Bilenkyi scored a hat-trick as Žalgiris finished the tie in normal time. Lytvynenko said Dinamo began to panic and joked that the celebrations after Bilenkyi’s third goal became a pile-on. “I ran over to Stas, lay on him, and then everyone else started jumping on us. I thought he’d suffocate – and me with him,” he said.
Lytvynenko also highlighted the atmosphere in Vilnius and the connection with supporters, saying even a crowd of around 5,000 can create a top-level noise. He added that his family were in the stands and that moments like that explain why players fight through injuries and problems.
The Ukrainian said he has also felt the benefits of life in Lithuania away from the pitch, describing the peace of mind compared to living under wartime conditions back home, and noted the public support for Ukraine he has seen in Vilnius.
Žalgiris will face Hajduk Split in the third qualifying round, with the first leg scheduled for Thursday, 6 August, in Vilnius. Lytvynenko said the Croatian side are a “big club” and “stronger than our previous opponents”, but added: “They also need to understand Žalgiris are not a team you can beat easily.”
Source: https://fkzalgiris.lt/i-lytvynenka-del-tokiu-vakaru-buvo-verta-nueiti-toki-kelia/
