Žalgiris struggles to victory against Džiugas in a match marked by fan protests.

2025-07-19 22:06

In the 21st round of the "TOPsport A League," Vilnius "Žalgiris," who suffered a setback in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers, faced off against the fluctuating Telšiai "Džiugas." The Žalgiris players, who scored in the second half, celebrated their victory with a score of 2:0 (0:0).

The match was marked by a protest from supporters. The "Pietų IV" stand chose silence instead of support, while in the middle of the stadium, in the "Žaliai balto Vilniaus" fans' sector, a banner reading "Faceless players - shameless leaders" was hung.

In the first minutes of the match, the Vilnius side was significantly more active, controlling the ball for longer, and after a shot from Giedrius Matulevičius, Telšiai goalkeeper Marius Paukštė had to work hard.

Midway through the half, Oleksandras Kurcevas received a great pass from deep in the field and shot towards the goal defended by Carlos Olsesas, but the goalkeeper caught the ball. Liviu Antalis also responded with an attempt, but he failed to seriously threaten M. Paukštė's goal.

Once again after the break, O. Kurcevas and Aramas Baghdasaryanas caught the Žalgiris defenders unprepared, but both shots were excellently saved by C. Olsesas.

In the 54th minute, Bruno Tavaresas made a great pass to L. Antalis, but the Žalgiris attacking leader could not beat the opposing goalkeeper. Similarly, "Džiugas" forward A. Baghdasaryanas found himself in a comparable situation but also failed to score.

In the 66th minute, the first goal of the match was scored - Dino Salčinovičius accurately passed the ball to Liviu Antalis, who headed it into the net, putting "Žalgiris" ahead. After a little more than ten minutes, D. Salčinovičius doubled the score, taking advantage of the confusion in the visitors' penalty area.

With this victory, "Žalgiris" has 28 points and is now tied with "Džiugas," who is in fifth place.