In the first round of the A Lyga, a high-scoring match took place in the capital city, with newly promoted side Vilnius’ Riteriai facing off against Marijampolė’s Sūduva. The match ended in a thrilling victory for Marijampolė, who defeated the Vilnius team with a score of 4-3.
FK Sūduva, who narrowly avoided relegation from the A Lyga last season by winning a promotion/relegation playoff on penalties, is determined not to experience that uncertainty again. Under the new management of Donatas Vencevičius, they signed several experienced players, including Nauris Petkevičius and Markas Beneta, who returned to the team after two seasons with Paņevežys, as well as goalkeeper Ignas Plūkas, who also makes a return to Sūduva after four years away. All of these players were in the starting lineup for today’s match.
Meanwhile, Riteriai’s new coach, Vitorovič, mixed the starting lineup for their return to the A Lyga, featuring six players from last season’s championship team and five newcomers.
The match started with Sūduva capitalizing on their first significant opportunity in the 5th minute, when Nauris Petkevičius scored with a header. However, the visitors’ celebration was short-lived as the home team quickly responded. In the 7th minute, Meinardas Mikulėnas found himself in the right place at the right time, heading the ball into the net to equalize.
Around the half-hour mark, Ignas Plūkas committed a foul in his own penalty area, leading to a penalty kick for Rokas Stanulevičius, who confidently converted it to give Sūduva the lead. Shortly before halftime, Andrius Kaulinis had a great opportunity to score for Vilnius, but Plūkas made a crucial save. Just after that, Sūduva took advantage of a defensive mistake from Riteriai, with Petkevičius assisting Japanese player Kota Sakurai, who scored efficiently.
Sūduva made a strong start to the second half. In the 49th minute, after receiving a pass from Idris Momoh, Frenchman Sidy Sanokho disarmed the opposing goalkeeper, allowing Maksym Pyrogov to extend the lead with another well-placed shot.
In the 73rd minute, Jakub Wawszczyk struck back for Vilnius, reducing the deficit to a single goal. Towards the end of the match, Garisson Innocent faced a powerful shot from Marko Beneta but managed to make the save. As the final whistle blew, Donatas Vencevičius celebrated a successful debut in his first game in charge after his return to Sūduva.
He will aim to continue this form as they host Lithuanian Cup champions FK Banga Gargždai next Sunday, who also won their opening match today. Meanwhile, Riteriai will seek to earn their first point of the season on Friday when they host the defending champions FK Žalgiris.
FK Riteriai – FK Sūduva 3:4 (2:2)
Goals: Mikulenas 7′, Stanulevičius 32′ (Penalty kick), Wawszczyk 71′ | Petkevičius 5′, Sakurai 45+2′, Sanokho 46′, Pyrogov 49′
Yellow Card: Rutkovskis 27′, Mikulenas 33′, Vlijter 79′, Hakansson 81′ | Plūkas 31′ Lawson 51′
Riteriai: Innocent – Stanulevičius, N.Stankevičius, Rutkovskis (Hakansson 54′), Wawszczyk – Sveistrys (Sajčic 54′), Rimpa (Civilka 90+1′) – Kaulinis (K.Stankevičius 83′) – Fernandez,, Mikulenas, Usavičius (Vlijter 54′)
Sūduva: Plūkas – Uzochukwu, Beneta, Zivanovic, Baltrunas – Sakurai (D.Stankevičius 64′), Lawson, Pyrogov (Haidara 72′) – Sanokho (Lukšys 72′), Petkevičius (Zingertas 87′), Momoh (Pudžemys 87′)
Referee: Mindaugas Jackus
