Marijampolė Sūduva strengthened their position at the top of the Lithuanian Toplyga on Sunday with an away win against FA Šiauliai 2-1. This was the league leaders fifth straight league win.
Sūduva created the first meaningful opportunity in the 15th minute after a neat move out from their own half. A series of quick passes released Faustas Steponavičius down the right, with the forward cutting inside before firing a left-footed effort straight at Šiauliai goalkeeper Gustas Baliutavičius.
The hosts then had a huge opportunity to take advantage of a mistake from Sūduva goalkeeper Ignas Plūkas in the 23rd minute. His poor pass fell to Daniel Romanovskij, who had an open opportunity to shoot, but the Šiauliai midfielder sent his effort just over the crossbar.
At the other end, Baliutavičius was forced into an important save in the 37th minute, denying Sidy Sanokho and keeping the score level. His resistance lasted only another minute.
In the 38th minute, Steve Lawson received the ball from the left and, from the edge of the penalty area, unleashed a powerful left-footed strike into the near top corner to give Sūduva a 1-0 lead.
Despite Sūduva controlling much of the game, Šiauliai found a way back shortly after half-time. In the 57th minute, Romanovskij tested Plūkas from distance, with the goalkeeper turning the shot behind for a corner. Romanovskij then took the resulting set piece short, finding centre-back Lazar Vukovic, who unleashed a long-range effort. The shot took a deflection in front of Plūkas and changed direction enough to beat the goalkeeper, bringing Šiauliai level at 1-1.
The home side then came close to completing the turnaround in the 68th minute. A long throw sent the ball into the Sūduva penalty area, where Divine Naah found himself with an opportunity, but defender Ernestas Stočkūnas threw himself in front of the shot and produced a crucial block.
That intervention proved decisive as just minutes later, Sūduva regained the lead. Moutir Chajia received the ball on the edge of the penalty area before creating space for himself and producing an excellent finish into the near bottom corner, leaving Baliutavičius with no chance.
It was Chajia’s second consecutive league match with a goal, and his latest strike proved enough to send Sūduva home with another three points.
The victory moves Sūduva further clear at the top of the table, with TransINVEST and Kauno Žalgiris six points behind. With five consecutive victories now secured, the Marijampolė side are beginning to create a significant gap at the summit.
FA Šiauliai vs FK Sūduva – 1-2 (0-1)
Goals: Vukovic 57′ | Lawson 38′, Chajia 72′
