Matas Vareika scored twice on his return from injury as Vilnius Žalgiris secured a crucial 3-2 victory over Kauno Žalgiris in a thrilling Žalgiris derby watched by 6,480 spectators on Wednesday evening. Five goals and plenty of drama saw the hosts claim their second derby victory of the season and remain firmly in the title race.
The stakes were high for both teams. A victory would bring Vilnius Žalgiris closer to the championship leaders with five rounds remaining, while Kauno Žalgiris had the opportunity to reclaim top spot from Sūduva. The hosts received a major boost with Vareika returning after missing the previous three matches through injury, having last featured on August 23. Kauno coach Željko Sopic, meanwhile, restored most of his key players after heavily rotating his team in the victory over Panevėžys three days earlier.
The first attempt came after three minutes when Yukiyoshi Karashima tried his luck from distance but failed to find the target. Two minutes later, the hosts were ahead. Paulius Golubickas released Vareika into space and the Lithuanian lifted the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Švedkauskas to open the scoring.
Kauno needed only three minutes to respond. Rokas Lekiatas produced an excellent long pass from inside his own half to release Leon Krekovic behind Klaudijus Upstas, and the Croatian forward made no mistake to level the score at 1-1. The visitors then completed the turnaround in the 20th minute. Motiejus Burba’s initial effort was pushed away by Vincentas Šarkauskas, but Krekovic reacted quickest to the loose ball and scored his second of the evening, his fourth goal in the last three matches.
The action continued almost immediately as Vareika struck the far post before Nemanja Mihajlovics effort from the rebound was blocked. Kauno then had a huge opportunity to extend their advantage when a defensive misunderstanding allowed Gabriel Debeljuh to break through one-on-one, but Šarkauskas produced an important save.
Vilnius continued to enjoy more possession and eventually found their equaliser just before half-time. After winning the ball high up the pitch, Golubickas found Vareika, who finished accurately to score his second of the evening and send the teams into the break level at 2-2.
The hosts carried their momentum into the second half and quickly regained the lead. After Kauno’s defence cleared a Golubickas cross, Anthony Kalik attempted to head the ball back towards his goalkeeper. Stanislav Bilenkyi anticipated the pass, intercepted inside the penalty area and beat Švedkauskas to make it 3-2.
Sopic reacted with further changes, introducing Leo Ribeiro and Fabien Ourega as Kauno looked for a way back into the contest. The visitors began to see more of the ball, but Vilnius remained dangerous on the counterattack, with Golubickas sending one opportunity wide.
Kauno increased the pressure during the closing stages and won several corners, although they struggled to create clear chances. Their best opportunity came in the 80th minute when Amine Benchaib curled a dangerous effort towards the far corner, forcing Šarkauskas into an important save.
The visitors continued searching for an equaliser during four minutes of stoppage time, but the Vilnius defence held firm. Instead, Bryan Teixeira had an opportunity to finish the contest on the counterattack, only to be denied by Švedkauskas.
The 3-2 victory keeps Vilnius Žalgiris firmly involved in the championship battle. They are now four points behind Kauno Žalgiris and five behind leaders Sūduva with five rounds remaining. Vilnius still have matches against both title rivals, while the fourth and final Žalgiris derby of the season will be played on October 26 at the Darius and Girėnas Stadium in Kaunas.
FK Žalgiris Vilnius vs FK Kauno Žalgiris – 3-2 (2-2)
Goals: Vareika 5′ 45′, Bilenkyi 51′ | Krekovic 8′ 20′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  FK Sūduva |
27 | 13 | 10 | 4 | 38 | 24 | 14 | 49 |
| 2 |  Kauno Žalgiris |
27 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 54 | 20 | 34 | 48 |
| 3 |  FK Žalgiris |
27 | 13 | 5 | 9 | 41 | 31 | 10 | 44 |
| 4 |  Transinvest |
27 | 12 | 6 | 9 | 40 | 35 | 5 | 42 |
| 5 |  FK Banga |
27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 30 | 28 | 2 | 38 |
| 6 |  Džiugas Telšiai |
27 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 36 | 38 | -2 | 38 |
| 7 |  FK Panevėžys |
28 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 29 | 43 | -14 | 32 |
| 8 |  FC Hegelmann |
28 | 4 | 13 | 11 | 30 | 47 | -17 | 25 |
| 9 |  FA Šiauliai |
28 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 24 | 56 | -32 | 17 |
