A. Skerla: about the best player and M. Vareika's potential

2026-05-07 12:40 © fkzalgiris.lt

FK "Žalgiris" triumphantly returned home – the Vilnius team won 3:1 (1:0) against FA "Šiauliai" football players in the 12th "Toplygos" round.

"I saw quite a few good moments, but there are also things that need fixing. But the most important thing is the victory. True, although we scored three goals, it was not an easy win – the match was very even. Compliments to "Šiauliai" and Mantas Kuklys. He is constructing that team very interestingly, the positional play is indeed of a high level. In the second half, we had to endure a bit. We endured and scored the third goal at the end," said the head coach of the Vilnius team, Andrius Skerla, praising his former comrade in "Žalgiris" and the national team, M. Kuklys, who recently took over the reins of "Šiauliai."

When asked if the center-backs G. Turda and P. Bosančičius, who scored the goals, disappointed in other elements of the game, the coach said: "There is still room for improvement – the center-backs received quite a bit of my criticism during the team meetings. The most important thing for me is their reaction – it is clear that they are fixing what I talked about."

A. Skerla praised the recently successful B. Teixeira: "He is a player to whom I have the least complaints. In every match since I arrived, he either makes an assist or scores a goal. He is getting more playing time and feels different on the field, confident in himself. I see that he can play the whole match without substitution, he can handle that load. It is very important for me that we have such players in the team."

"Žalgiris" once had to cope without one of the main game directors, Paulius Golubickas – he missed the match due to four yellow cards collected in previous rounds.

But on the field, after a long break, M. Vareika appeared, who had not played due to injury. "Matas has been training with the team for a week now. I didn't want to risk his health in Panevėžys. I really hope for his active play up front. Matas is a creative player, likes to attack spaces. We don't have many like him. I think the further we go, the more time he will get and he will reach that form which will benefit the team," said A. Skerla confidently.