Toplyga leaders FK Džiugas Telšiai surrendered a three-goal advantage but still managed to emerge victorious, as a stoppage-time winner from Tomas Stelmokas secured a dramatic 4-3 home victory over FA Šiauliai in one of the most entertaining matches of the season.
The visitors threatened first when Karolis Žebrauskas unleashed a powerful effort from outside the penalty area, but Džiugas goalkeeper Marius Paukšte reacted well to keep the scores level.
Džiugas gradually took control and were close to capitalising on a mistake from Šiauliai goalkeeper Paulius Linkevičius, whose headed clearance fell kindly for Denys Bunchukov. The Ukrainian attempted an ambitious long-range effort but failed to find the target.
The breakthrough arrived in the 38th minute. Vilius Piliukaitis forced a save from Linkevičius, but Ronald Sobowale reacted quickest to the rebound and tapped home to give the league leaders a deserved advantage.
The hosts doubled their lead just a few minutes later. Once again Piliukaitis was involved, providing the pass for Bunchukov, who found the net to make it 2-0 before halftime.
Džiugas appeared to have wrapped up all three points early in the second half. Piliukaitis collected his second assist of the evening when he set up Valentino Vermeulen, who calmly finished into an empty net to extend the advantage to 3-0.
At that point the result looked beyond doubt. However, Šiauliai produced a remarkable response. Nedas Garbaliauskas sparked the comeback in the 59th minute after connecting with a Patrikas Pranckus delivery. Only moments later he struck again, beating Paukšte with an acrobatic finish to suddenly cut the deficit to just one goal.
The visitors continued to push forward and were rewarded in the 77th minute when they earned a penalty kick. Lazar Vukovic confidently converted from the spot to complete an incredible comeback and level the score at 3-3.
After seeing their three-goal lead disappear, Džiugas looked set to settle for a point. Instead, they found one final moment of magic deep into stoppage time. As the match entered its final seconds, Tomas Stelmokas rose to the occasion, scoring the decisive goal to send the home supporters into celebration and secure a thrilling 4-3 victory.
The dramatic win allows Džiugas to remain at the top of the Toplyga standings, while Šiauliai are left wondering how a spirited fightback from three goals down ultimately yielded no reward.
