In a historic Golden First League match, "Babrungas” triumphed in a penalty shootout and earned a ticket to TOPLYGA.

2026-11-11 22:00 © lff.lt

On Wednesday evening, the golden match of the TOPsport-sponsored First League was played at Gargždai Central Stadium.

As a reminder, such a match was needed this year after Kretinga "Minija” and Plungė "Babrungas” collected an equal number of points over the course of the 30-round season.

After a hard-fought contest that required extra time and a penalty shootout, the Plungė club proved their superiority with a 1:1 (0:0, penalties 10:9) victory. They not only won the First League title but also earned promotion to next season’s TOP LEAGUE on sporting merit.

Meanwhile, Kretinga, who finished second, will play a promotion-relegation playoff against FA "Šiauliai”, who finished ninth in this season’s TOP LEAGUE.

Wednesday’s match began with an even contest between the teams. There were few chances at either end, with most of the action taking place in the middle of the pitch.

After the break, Kretinga became somewhat more active. Although they had less possession, they created more half-chances, but no goal was scored and the match went into extra time.

No goal was scored for a long time in extra time either. However, in the final minutes, a Plungė player headed the ball into the net from a corner, and it already seemed that this goal would prove decisive.

But Kretinga did not stop, even then, and equalised in the final seconds, sending the outcome of the match to a penalty shootout.

The shootout lasted so long that the goalkeepers also had to take penalties. Vykintas Gaudesius’ shot flew over the bar, while Plungė goalkeeper Darius Kublick made no mistake and secured a historic victory for his team.