Vinckus first A Lyga goal gets Džiugas a win against struggling Banga

In the opening match of Matchday 7 in the Lithuanian TOPsport A Lyga, Džiugas Telšiai secured a 1-0 victory over the struggling FK Banga Gargždai, thanks to Deitonas Vinckus’ first-ever A Lyga goal. This win continued Džiugas’ strong start to the season.

Last year’s Lithuanian Cup winners Banga have had a disappointing start to this season. They have not achieved a victory since their opening match, marking the second-longest winless streak in the league, surpassed only by Dainava Alytus, which has not won any of its first six matches.

In contrast, Džiugas Telšiai has enjoyed a solid start to the season. They replicated their success from the previous year with three wins in their first six league games, and they were keen to maintain this momentum.

In the four meetings between these two teams last season, each secured one win, with the other two matches ending in a draw. Historically in the A Lyga, Džiugas has only achieved two wins against Banga in 16 encounters.

Banga’s manager, David Afonso, opted to keep the same starting lineup for this match as in the previous game, while Džiugas’ manager made three changes, bringing Deitonas Vinckus, Vilius Piliukaitis, and Karolis Šilkaitis back into the starting eleven.

The first half was scoreless, but Banga dominated the play. Goalkeeper Marius Paukšte made several crucial saves to keep the game level.

Although Banga was on the offensive for much of the first half, this left opportunities for Džiugas Telšiai to counter-attack. They capitalized on one such chance in the 68th minute. Following a goal kick, the ball reached Oleksandr Kurtsev, who played a through ball to set up Deitonas Vinckus for a one-on-one opportunity. The 22-year-old midfielder then struck a powerful shot to the near post, beating Banga’s goalkeeper Mantas Bertašius to give Džiugas the lead. This goal marked Vinckus’ first-ever A Lyga goal, coming after 41 appearances.

While Banga pushed for an equalizer, they were unable to create significant scoring opportunities, especially after missing chances in the first half. Džiugas held on for their second consecutive win and their fourth in the last six matches, while Banga’s winless streak extended to six games.

Banga will host bottom-of-the-table DFK Dainava Alytus in their next match on Sunday, while Džiugas will face FK Riteriai the day before.

FK Banga Gargždai vs FC Džiugas Telšiai – 0:1 (0:0)
Goals: Vinckus 68′
Yellow Card: Ramanauskas 39′ | Urbys 42′, Kayramani 46′, Kulbachuk 73′, Baghdasaryan 90+4′
BAN: Bertašius – Zebrauskas, Malžinskas, Simao (Jose Elo 82′), Figueredo – Ramanauskas – Filipavičius (Ambražitis 86′), Norvilas, Magdušauskas (Emsis 75′), Olugbogi (Andrejev 86′) – Venckus (El Harmazi 75′)
DŽI: Paukšte – Kulbachuk, Suško, Silkaitis (Pushkarov 36′), Trajkovski – Piliukaitis (Cisse 67′), Kayramani (Yamada 67′), Ankudinovas – Vinckus, Urbys (Martin 83′), Kurtsev (Baghdasaryan 83′)