Žalgiris youngsters suffered a dramatic defeat to the Irish – the meeting with Chelsea-beating Estonians will not take place

2026-11-04 21:00 © Elvis Žaldaris

Vilnius Žalgiris’ youth team’s UEFA Youth League campaign has come to an end. In the second-leg match of the second round, Žalgiris lost 0:1 at home to Dublin’s St. Patrick’s Athletic.

The first meeting between the teams in Ireland ended in a 1:1 draw, so the visitors advanced to the next round with a 2:1 aggregate victory.

Compared with the first match in Dublin, there was one change in Žalgiris’ starting lineup: Ugnius Klimavičius replaced the injured Benas Bruzga in midfield.

The start of the match was delayed by 15 minutes due to unforeseen circumstances related to the visitors’ arrival. The match was watched by 683 spectators.

The visitors had the initiative and controlled possession during the first 20 minutes, but Žalgiris defended confidently and blocked several of their opponents’ shots.

In the 28th minute, the Irish took the lead. Niall Sullivan took a free kick from approximately 30 metres, the ball changed direction after a deflection and ended up in Žalgiris’ goal – 0:1.

In the 31st minute, the Vilnius side created their best chance of the first half. Following a pass from Vakaris Bradunas, Danielius Velicka lifted the ball over the goalkeeper, but it flew just wide of the goal.

In the 39th minute, Dominykas Cekavicius stopped a dangerous attack by the visitors. The Žalgiris goalkeeper came off his line and parried the ball with his feet, collecting it only at the second attempt.

Danielius Velicka had another chance before the break. In the 41st minute, he moved into a shooting position from the flank inside the penalty area, but sent the ball over the bar.

At the start of the second half, the visitors took several shots at Žalgiris’ goal: Dominykas Cekavicius saved one, while another went well wide.

Midway through the second half, Žalgiris managed to create some dangerous situations, but the visitors blocked their shots inside the penalty area.

St. Patrick’s Athletic threatened later on, but Dominykas Cekavicius confidently saved the players’ efforts.

Žalgiris were unable to equalise and ended their campaign in the second round of the tournament.

In the first round, the Vilnius side defeated Akureyri’s Thór 6:3 on aggregate.

Žalgiris lineup: Dominykas Cekavicius, Dominykas Arsulis, Vytis Pavilonis, Dovydas Eidukaitis, Simas Grabaukas, Vakaris Bradunas (69 min. Erik Tuchinskij), Dovydas Sumkauskas, Ugnius Klimavicius (69 min. Karolis Chrustaliov), Danielius Velicka (54 min. Rokas Kursevicius), Tomas Grigaliunas (68 min. Daumantas Braskys), Vakaris Berenta.