FK Kauno Žalgiris players will take to the field this Thursday for the decisive second leg of their UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie against Bulgarian side Arda Kardzhali.
The first meeting in Kaunas ended in a narrow victory for the visitors, leaving the Lithuanian club with a one-goal deficit to overturn in Kardzhali.
On Wednesday, Žalgiris flew from Kaunas to Plovdiv on a chartered flight before making the journey to Kardzhali, checking into their hotel, and holding an evening training session. Speaking ahead of the game, head coach Eivinas Černiauskas expressed optimism.
“The mood is good, the trip was very quick. We had time to eat, rest, and relax. The players are determined to fight only for the win. That’s what we’ll try to do tomorrow,” he said.
The first leg began in disastrous fashion for the hosts, with Damjan Pavlović receiving a red card in just the second minute, forcing Žalgiris to play almost the entire match with 10 men.
“Basically, last week we played the whole match shorthanded, so our post-match analysis wasn’t that deep. We didn’t have the chance to test ourselves 11 vs 11. Tomorrow will be a completely different match, especially since we’re a goal down. Our focus will be on equalising quickly or scoring an early goal. We have our plan, we’re prepared, and tomorrow we’ll try to show our best version,” Černiauskas explained.
Although temperatures in Bulgaria have been above 30°C, conditions during training at Arda’s stadium were more forgiving.
“Actually, the weather is very good now, even a bit cool. The match will be an hour later than today’s training, so I don’t think the weather will be an obstacle,” the coach noted.
Černiauskas and his staff also attended Arda’s domestic league match on Monday to scout their opponents.
“Of course, we follow their situation. They made a lot of changes in their line-up, and their key players didn’t get too much workload. Naturally, they’re also putting their focus on tomorrow’s game. I think both teams will be ready to show their best football,” he said.
The second leg kicks off on August 14 in Kardzhali at 20:30 local time.
