In today’s TOPsport A Lyga Matchday 4, FK Paņevežys and FK Banga Garždai played to a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, reigning champions FK Žalgiris escaped with a 1-0 victory against DFK Dainavas Alytus thanks to a last-minute goal from Yury Kendysh during the ninth minute of added time in the second half.
DFK Dainava Alytus manager Kuznetsov gave a first start to Georgian U-19 international Nikoloz Chikovani. Meanwhile, Vladimir Cheburin included South Sudanese forward Machop Chol in the starting lineup for the first time, replacing injured forward Adama Fofana, who will be out for an extended period.
In the first half, Žalgiris controlled possession and appeared more dangerous but struggled with their finishing, failing to hit the target from promising positions. Toward the end of the first half, Dainava scored a goal, but Polish striker Okoniewski was ruled offside when he received the initial pass that led to his one-on-one chance, a decision confirmed by VAR.
During the second half, Žalgiris’s attacking players began to shoot more frequently at the target. The best chance at that time came from Motiejus Burba, whose shot was saved by Dainava’s Ukrainian goalkeeper, Krynskyi. A few minutes later, Dainava had their opportunity as well, but Žalgiris goalkeeper Tordai saved Davor Rakič’s effort.
Both teams were determined to secure three points, and Dainava came close to taking the lead. An excellent play by Rakič saw him pass the ball to the far post, where Japanese player Takumi Hiruma was alone with an open net, but he put the shot wide. Unfortunately for Dainava, this missed opportunity proved costly, as in the last minute of the game, Yury Kendysh scored with a header, breaking the deadlock and giving Žalgiris the lead, ultimately securing a hard-fought victory.
This marked Dainava’s third defeat in their first four games, while Žalgiris earned their second win of the season, moving up to third place in the league table with eight points, just one point behind leaders Sūduva and Hegelmann.
DFK Dainava Alytus vs FK Žalgiris – 0:1 (0:0)
Goals: Kendysh 90+9′
Yellow Card: Okoniewski 82′, Stočkunas 84′ | Chol 7′, Bička 25′, Kendysh 32′
DAI: Krynskyi – Stočkunas, Paliusis (Oostenbrink 54′), Maksymenko, Lukošiunas, Chikovani – Ževzikovas (Kodz 90+1′), Pavlovski (Hiruma 72′), Banevičius (Koshkosh 72′), Baftalovskyi (Rakič 54′) – Okoniwski
ŽAL: Tordai – Moutachy, Zahary, Pavilonis (Jaruševičius 82′), Tavares – Kendysh – Hadji (Burba 46′), Matulevičius (Salcinovic 65′), Bička (Verbickas 65′), Chol (Matyzonok 72′) – Henrique
In the other match of the day Paņevežys manager Roland Vrabec made one change from their previous match, where they won against Sūduva. Spaniard Lucas De Vega made his first start of the season. For Banga, Rokas Filipavičius returned to the field after a one-match absence, and Valdas Antužis also got his first start of the season.
The early part of the game saw limited action, with the only significant chance coming from a long-range shot by Filipavičius, which was saved by Paņevežys goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas. Both teams were forced to make substitutions, as Paņevežys captain Linas Klimavičius and Banga defender Junior Simao had to leave the game due to injuries.
Just before halftime, Banga opened the scoring. After a well-executed set piece from a corner kick, Valdas Antužis set up Matas Ramanauskas in a prime position, and he scored his first goal of the season to make it 1-0.
At the start of the second half, Ramanauskas had a chance to double the lead, but his shot went wide. Three minutes later, Pavle Radunovič and Isaac Asante combined effectively, leading to Asante scoring his first goal of the season to equalize the match at 1-1. In the following minutes, Radunovič, who had scored both goals in the previous win against Sūduva, had two excellent opportunities to give Paņevežys the lead. However, one of his close-range shots went over the goal, while the other was saved by the goalkeeper.
The score remained unchanged for the rest of the match, leading both teams to share a point. Banga is now sixth in the league table with five points after four games, while FK Paņevežys, with one point less, sits right behind them.
In Matchday 5, Paņevežys will play an away match against FK Riteriai on Saturday, while Banga Garždai will host FA Šiauliai on the same day.
FK Paņevežys vs FK Banga Gargždai – 1:1 (0:1)
Goals: Asante 61′ | Ramanauskas 40′
Yellow Card: Rasimavičius 46′ | Ramanauskas 22′, Norvilas 38′
PAN: Černiauskas – Krasniqi (Veliulis 73′), Dante, Januševskis – Klimavičius (Dzinga 28′), Kouadio, Vaicekauskas, Rasimavičius – De Vega (Simon 73′), Radunovic, Asante (Asamoah 85′)
BAN: Bertašius – Antužis, Figueredo, Simao (Elo 33′), Malžinskas – Olugbogi (Andrejev 89′), Ramanauskas – Filipavičius (El Harmazi 63′), Magdušauskas, Norvilas (Victory 89′) – Venckus (Emsis 63′)
| # | Club | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | FK Sūduva | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | Hegelmann FC | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| 3 | FK Žalgiris | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 4 | Kauno Žalgiris | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7 |
| 5 | FC Džiugas Telšiai | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 6 | FK Banga Gargždai | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| 7 | FA Šiauliai | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| 8 | FK Panevėžys | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | -1 | 4 |
| 9 | FK Riteriai | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -2 | 2 |
| 10 | DFK Dainava Alytus | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 1 |