Champions were unable to overcome 'Džiugas'

2026-05-05 21:59 © zalgiris.lt

The 12th round of the TOP LEAGUE started at the Darius and Girėnas Stadium, where Kaunas Žalgiris hosted guests from Samogitia. Playing with a disadvantage for almost the entire second half, Eivinas Černiauskas' pupils could not withstand Telšiai's Džiugas' attacks and squandered a 2-goal lead, ending the match in a draw 2:2 (2:0).

The green and whites surged ahead as early as the 2nd minute when Damjan Pavlović found Fabien Ourega in the penalty area. In an excellent position, he sent the ball into the net, and after just over 10 minutes, Yukiyoshi Karashima could have doubled the lead with a long shot, but he fell just short of the target.

The home team organized a productive attack in the 34th minute. Y. Karashima found Motiejus Burbas with a single touch. He generously set up Amine Benchaib, who only had to send the ball into the net from close range. However, just after the start of the second half, Rokas Lekiatas saw a red card for a foul on Ronald Sobowale.

Left with fewer players, the Kaunas team conceded a goal very quickly when Vilius Piliukaitis fought to the end and made a good pass towards the goal for Denius Ževžikovas, whose strike softened the scoreline. Already during the added time, the Telšiai players equalized when Tomas Stelmokas passed the ball to Bacary Sane, and his strong shot turned into the equalizing goal.

After the matches of the 12th round of the TOP LEAGUE, Kaunas Žalgiris leads with 27 points, while Džiugas has accumulated 21 points and remains in the top three.