Thrilling draw in Marijampolė: Sūduva and Žalgiris share the spoils in 2–2 clash

The 16th round of the TOPsport A Lyga brought fans to Marijampolė Football Arena, where a high-tempo and emotionally charged battle between Sūduva and Žalgiris ended in a 2–2 draw.

Right from the kickoff, Žalgiris threatened the hosts’ goal. Bruno Tavares unleashed an early effort that fortunately for the Marijampolė side, whistled just wide of the target.

Midway through the first half, the teams exchanged blows. Nemanja Mihajlović opened the scoring for the visitors, but just a few minutes later, Sūduva responded with force. In the 25th minute, Amar Haidara powered home a precise strike following a pinpoint assist from Nauris Petkevičius to level the match.

Sūduva continued to push forward after the equalizer. Lucky Tom had a golden opportunity to take the lead, but his shot to the near post was denied by Carlos Olses.

In the 35th minute, the home side was forced into a change when goalkeeper Giedrius Zenkevičius left the pitch due to injury. He was replaced by Ignas Plūkas.

Shortly after the break, Žalgiris captain Ovidijus Verbickas nearly found the net after latching onto a long ball, but his shot flew just wide, sparing Sūduva from falling behind.

Then came the 56th minute, and once again, Amar Haidara had the home crowd on their feet. Reacting quickest to a rebound off Olses, he slotted home his second of the night, putting Sūduva ahead 2–1.

But the lead was short-lived. Almost immediately after, Ovidijus Verbickas responded with a well-placed header to draw Žalgiris level once again.

With just over 10 minutes remaining in regular time, Yuri Kendysh, came agonizingly close to a winner once again, rattling the post with a powerful free kick.

After this result, Sūduva sit comfortably in 3rd place with 30 points, while Žalgiris remain in 8th with 19 points, still seeking momentum in the league table.

FK Sūduva vs FK Žalgiris – 2:2 (1:1)
Goals: Haidara 26′ 57′ | Mihajlovic 23′, Verbickas 61′
SUD: Zenkevičius (Plūkas 35′), Stankevičius, Uzochukwu, Zivanovic, Beneta, Tangiri (Lukšys 88′), Sakurai, Baltrunas, Petkevičius, Haidara (Momoh 67′), Lucky (Sanokho 67′)
ŽAL: Olses, Moutachy, Abiam, Kendysh, Tavares, Ofori, Matulevičius, Verbickas, Bička (Lukaševic 67′), Mihajlovic (Hadji 67′), Henrique (Chol 83′)

A Lyga Matchday 16 games:

• 19.06.2025 – FK Paņevežys vs DFK Dainava Alytus – 2:0
• 19.06.2025 – FK Sūduva vs FK Žalgiris – 2:2
• 19.06.2025 – Džiugas Telšiai vs FK Banga Gargždai – 0:1
• 19.06.2025 – FK Riteriai vs FA Šiauliai – 1:0
• 19.06.2025 – FC Hegelmann vs FK Kauno Žalgiris – 1:2