Opening match of the second lap of A Lyga season 2025 was a must-win for Hegelmann if they were to maintain their lead at the top of the table. Travelling north to Šiauliai, however, was never going to be easy given Hegelmann’s poor away record and the impressive performances by their hosts.
The Kaunas district side approached the bout diligently and delivered a strong performance on what was, admittedly, a poor natural grass pitch. After a 0-3 loss to table leaders Hegelmann FC, FA Šiauliai head coach Dainis Kazakevičs reflected on what went wrong:
I think that the first half was very even. We had chances and Hegelmann had chances but, most importantly, we knew after our previous match against them, that set pieces are one of their major strengths. Still, today we conceded three goals and all three came from set pieces. I must admit that we just sat back at some point in the second half. The last three weeks were very difficult for us with many injuries and a very intensive calendar. We just didn’t have the fitness to sustain the second half today and when you are one or two goals down it is especially important to be physically and mentally strong.
Šiauliai have been one of the big surprises of the first lap of this season’s A Lyga, putting up an impressive run of performances that saw them to the Top 4 coming into the second lap of the season. Hegelmann, one of the title contenders, are now 4 points clear at the top of the table, leading their closest competitors – FK Sūduva – who still have a game in hand.
Šiauliai will next meet DFK Dainava on the 11th of May at 18:25 local time and Hegelmann will host struggling Panevėžys a day prior at 16:00.