Panevėžys will take a 1-1 draw to Kazakhstan after being held by Tobol in the first leg at Aukštaitija Stadium.
In front of close to 2,000 supporters, the Lithuanian side led at the break when Seydina Keita struck late in the first half. Tobol, the Kazakhstan Cup holders, levelled late on as centre-back Nemanja Cavnič converted from a set-piece situation.
Panevėžys head coach Toni Korkeakunnas said his side executed much of the plan but was frustrated by the manner of the equaliser. “We analysed the opponent well – we knew they are very strong on the ball and control it well,” said the Finn. “I think for most of the match we defended quite well and controlled the situation. They had a few chances and set-pieces, most of which we dealt with.
“But it kills you when, in one of the last of those situations, everything is wrong. Looking at the video, it was a complete lack of concentration – a lot of players were not in the right positions, but that happens when you are tired. It’s a bit of an embarrassment.”
Korkeakunnas added that Panevėžys had openings to extend their lead. “At 1-0 we had good chances to score a second goal,” he said. “Overall it was a brave performance – everyone gave their heart and soul. We stuck to the game plan for most of it. At the start we were slow in build-up and gave the ball away too much.
“The tempo was quite high, the players adapted, and we had good opportunities on the counter-attack and from corners. The lads played bravely. We are a bit disappointed we didn’t win. I’m not saying we were better than the opponent, but we could have done it.”
The coach singled out goalkeeper Vytautas Černiauskas, right-back Ernestas Burdzilauskas, Isaac Asante and goalscorer Keita, but reserved particular praise for 17-year-old local academy product Dovydas Balsys after his defensive work on the left.
“Maybe I’m praising a young boy too much, but Dovydas Balsys is growing and showed he can play in the league and here as well,” Korkeakunnas said. “I’m not local and I’ve only been working here for a few months, but I’m always happy when young players grow with responsibility by being kept on the pitch. At the end he got a bit tired, but he did his job well against Kazakhstan international Islam Chesnokov.”
The second leg will be played in Kostanay on Thursday, 30 July, with kick-off at 17:00 Lithuanian time at the Central Stadium.
Source: https://fk-panevezys.lt/drasus-pasirodymas-patiko-strategui/
