JELGAVA, Latvia — Lithuanian teams find themselves sitting best in the Triobet Baltic League after the first leg of round one.
Yesterday saw another four games take place, with a date yet to be announced for the Ventspils, FK Banga catch-up game. Of the seven games that have taken place, the five Lithuanian teams that have played have either recorded draws or wins. Latvian teams have experienced mixed results, whilst the Estonian teams have only been able to muster a draw.
The second day of first leg matches began in Estonia with the second-placed Meistriliga team, Sillamäe Kalev proving no match for the visiting Skonto from Latvia, whose two second-half goals ensured a 3-1 victory. The visitors struck first in the 23rd minute Andrej Agofonov. But, a reply from Aleksei Naumov in the 40th minute saw the teams tied at half time. Skonto came out stronger in the second-half, soon asserting complete dominance over the game with goals to Natans Junior in the 59th minute and Aleksandrs Cauņa in the 83rd minute assuring the visitors of victory.
Jurmala had the edge over visitors Ekranas in the first half with a goal to Jurgis Kalns in the 35th minute giving the home side a half time lead. However, visitors Ekranas completely shut their hosts out of the game in the second-half with three goals courtesy of Egidijus Varnas in the 66th minute and Dominykas Galkevičius in the 70th and 90th minutes completing a 3-1 away victory.
The difference in the strength between the A-Lyga and Meistriliga was no more evident than when Levadia Tallinn traveled to Lithuania to take on Tauras. Unbeaten in domestic action to date this year, Levadia would have been full of confidence taking on one of the A-Lyga mid-table teams. However, the Estonians found themselves in trouble immediately when Baltic League newcomers Tauras scored through Vytautas Dragūnevičius within the first minute, producing the fastest-ever Baltic League goal. The goal was the difference on the night as neither team was able to put away any more opportunities.
In the final game of the day, Flora Tallinn restored some respectability into Estonian football with a respectable 1-1 away draw to Šiauliai. Like their compatriots Tauras, Šiauliai did not take long to get on the board, with Tadas Špukas scoring for the hosts in the 6th minute. Flora Tallinn got over the early glitch to defend well for the remainder of the game. They were finally rewarded for their hard work with a goal to Vjatseslav Zahovaiko with seven minutes remaining to record the draw.
The teams will meet again in return legs on Oct. 27 and Oct. 28. Until then, all will return to domestic action as the end of the season looms.
