Žalgiris 1-4 Brann: Holm treble leaves Lithuanians bottom

Kauno Žalgiris fell 1-4 at home to Brann in the UEFA Conference League as Noah Jean Holm scored a hat-trick. Renan Oliveira’s equaliser was the club’s first ever goal in a UEFA main stage, but the Lithuanian side remain bottom with zero points.

Kauno Žalgiris made four changes from the side that faced Brighton and nine from the team that played Sūduva, though manager Željko Sopic had already flagged after the cup final that he planned to rotate for the Brighton game. This is the first European match of the season in which captain Gratas Sirgėdas starts. Lithuania international Fedor Černych, who has 103 caps, is not registered for the league phase of the UEFA Conference League. Žalgiris lost their previous Conference League outing 0-4 to Brighton, while Brann came from behind to beat Lincoln Red Imps 2-1.

Match highlights

0′ Kick-off.

3′ Brann free-kick taken well by full-back Soltvedt. Holm gets on the end of it, beating Tolordava in the air and aiming for the near corner. The ball deflects slightly off Tolordava’s hand, but Švedkauskas reads it and pulls off a strong save.

6′ Penalty. After a VAR review, a penalty is awarded to Brann for the handball by Tolordava in the third minute while contesting an aerial duel.

7′ GOAL! (0-1) Noah Jean Holm converts the penalty, sending the ball slightly to the right at hip height as the goalkeeper dives the other way.

12′ GOAL! (1-1) Renan Oliveira scores for Kauno Žalgiris. Léo Ribeiro’s corner to the near post is touched on by Tolordava before Oliveira forces the ball over the line, more or less with his shoulder. The goal comes after a solid spell from the home side and is their first ever in the main stage of a UEFA competition.

17′ Holm tries to cross into the Žalgiris area. Magnússon heads it further across goal, but full-back Torsvik cannot quite reach it in time to turn it past Švedkauskas.

25′ GOAL! (1-2) An inch-perfect cross from Soltvedt finds Holm’s head. Edokpolor loses the aerial duel, Lekiatas tries to help, but there is miscommunication in the Žalgiris defence and Holm steers it into the bottom right corner.

40′ GOAL! (1-3) Holm produces a powerful shot into the far corner. Held tightly by Rokas Lekiatas, he breaks free, turns and fires an arrow that Švedkauskas has no chance with. Sirgėdas tries to block it with a slide but cannot get there.

45+2′ Great chance for Holm to complete his hat-trick. Brann break on the counter, Ingason crosses from the wing and Holm, marked by Moutachy, still gets a shot away, but it flies well wide.

HT review
Švedkauskas was called into action early with a good save. An unfortunate handball in the air by Tolordava was given as a penalty after a review. Kauno Žalgiris then enjoyed a decent spell of pressure and scored themselves from a set-piece that turned into a chaotic scramble in the box. Brann looked the stronger side overall, especially dangerous from crosses, but Žalgiris had some dangerous counter-attacks. Several of them needed only one better final action to become clear chances, with Fabien Ourega and Léo Ribeiro among those involved. Brann controlled the tempo with 71% possession and held a 13-4 advantage in shots. At the break Kauno Žalgiris made a triple change, bringing on Slivka, Hernández and Kreković for Ribeiro, Lekiatas and Fiolić.

47′ Sirgėdas presses the goalkeeper successfully, but the ball deflects off him too quickly and goes out for a goal-kick.

56′ Oliveira wins the ball back in the opposition half and holds it up for Sirgėdas, who is already running. Sirgėdas gets into the box, cuts inside past Ingason onto his stronger left foot, but the shot goes wide.

62′ Powerful shot by Castro from just outside the penalty area. He leaves Moutachy behind, but the effort goes straight at Švedkauskas, who can only turn it behind for a corner.

77′ By far the best chance for Kauno Žalgiris. Moutachy crosses deep from the wing, Sirgėdas reaches it and tries to turn it in, but the ball is partly covered by Dragsnes. Nilsen saves and the deflection falls to Burba, who slips while trying to scoop the ball into an open goal and misses.

85′ GOAL! (1-4) Eriksen delivers a perfect cross to the far post. Holm gets there ahead of Tolordava and heads it in from a sharp angle, low and into the far corner. No chance for Švedkauskas. Holm completes his hat-trick with two headers and one strike from outside the box.

FT review
The second half went largely as Brann planned. Despite a similar number of shots and Žalgiris potentially even creating the sharper chances at times, Brann controlled 63% of the ball in the second half and 67% overall (Sofascore). They were the better side, stronger in the air and quicker in their play. Kauno Žalgiris stuck to a clear game plan and produced some dangerous counters, but wastefulness in front of goal, particularly the miss in the 77th minute, made the final scoreline look harsher than it might have been.

Kauno Žalgiris face Lugano away in the Conference League on Thursday 5 November. The side from Kaunas currently sit bottom of the table with 0 points and a –7 goal difference.