In the first qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League, Andrius Skerla’s trainees eliminated Montenegro’s “Petrovac” and finally crossed the first European tournament barrier after three years.
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The Vilnius team had done most of the work a week earlier when they defeated the opponents 3:1 away and brought back a two-goal advantage to the capital. On Thursday, it was only left not to squander it – not to stumble at the threshold when the door to the next stage was already wide open.
Driven passionately by their fans, “Žalgiris” did not collapse, did not falter, and did not allow the match to turn into that dangerous evening European fog in which Lithuanian clubs have lost more than one seemingly already pocketed ticket over many years.
A 2:1 victory, an additional point to the European coefficient table, and a secured ticket forward.
It was not a feat. However, for the current “Žalgiris,” this step was almost as necessary as air.
Occupying only sixth place in the local championship, although trailing the leader “Kauno Žalgiris” by only three points, the capital club lives this summer in a strange intermediate state.
The club’s financial engine is buzzing at full capacity, but in the tournament table, “Žalgiris” is still moving having lost the highest gear.
The new “Žalgiris” built by Tadas Burgaila and his comrades is still just looking for a solid foundation under its feet, but in Europe, it is already expected at least not to stumble at the first hurdle.
No one would have understood if the Vilnius club, which declared a significantly thicker wallet, bigger ambitions, and a new beginning, had stopped before a team whose stadium could theoretically gather the entire town and still leave a few rows for tourists wandering from the beach.
Petrovac, a small Adriatic coast resort, is home to about one and a half thousand people. The “Mitar Mičo Goliš” stadium, nestled under a green mountain, holds 1,630 spectators – slightly more than the permanent residents of the town.
However, “Petrovac” is not just a football club accidentally appearing on the edge of a summer postcard between hotels, palm trees, and sunbeds. It is rather a small raft that somehow stayed afloat through all the storms of Montenegrin football. Since 2006, when independent Montenegro started organizing its championship, “Petrovac” has never been relegated from the top league, and only two big clubs in the country still maintain such status – Podgorica’s “Budučnost” and Nikšić’s “Sutjeska”.
“Petrovac” has never become a champion, has not filled a trophy cabinet, and has not grown a crowd of fans beyond its coast. But every spring it is still there where it started – among the strongest.
Sometimes the value of a small club is measured not by how high it has risen but by how many times it has refused to sink.
Nevertheless, on Thursday in Liepkalnis, this stubborn Montenegrin football project’s journey through Europe ended. “Žalgiris” did not shatter it to pieces but calmly escorted it back to the Adriatic port.
“After the first match, a solid victory and a good result, everyone expected that we should pass this stage. Both I and the whole team were no exception. We believed, and I think in these two matches we were the better team,” summarized A. Skerla the first qualifying round.
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In the starting eleven, A. Skerla found places for four Lithuanian footballers and four newcomers who joined the club this summer.
Compared to the match in Podgorica, the Vilnius team made two changes in the starting lineup – Marko Capan was replaced in midfield by Ivan Lytvynenko, who started for the first time, and Gustas Jarusevičius took the place of Bryan Teixeira, who injured his knee.
Žalgiris was again the better team, played longer with the ball, firmly controlled the situation, but ironically scored the first goal when the guests were playing perhaps their best period in the match.
In the 59th minute, after a pass from Paulius Golubickas into the penalty area, Stanislav Bilenkyi failed to confidently stop the ball, but it hit Aleksandar Kapisoda’s hand, and Northern Ireland referee Ian McNabb pointed to the 11 m mark. The penalty was confidently converted by Nikola Petković, who is becoming an increasingly solid leader of “Žalgiris” attacks.
There was no intrigue left. In the 75th minute, P. Golubickas made another excellent pass to Nemanja Mihajlović, and the Serbian, who appeared on the field after the substitution, secured the hosts’ position with an impressive curled shot into the far corner of the goal.
In the 87th minute, taking advantage of Deividas Šešplauk’s carelessness in defense, Trimnon Selimi broke out one-on-one against “Žalgiris” goalkeeper Vincentas Šarkauskas and scored a consolation goal, but all the most important questions had already been answered.
“From the very beginning of the match, we played well, controlled the ball, and achieved the result. Maybe we just lacked better chance conversion, but after the break, everything changed. Goals change matches – we scored one goal, then another. We made many substitutions, maybe at the end we got a bit off track, believed the job was done. I would like to finish the match a bit more solidly. It’s a pity we conceded, but overall I am satisfied with the match. The most important thing is that we are in the next stage,” admitted A. Skerla.
The 49-year-old from Vilnius also crossed a kind of Rubicon on Thursday. His team finally overcame a European cup stage, which he had failed to do for many years while coaching Kauno district’s “Hegelmann”.
“It’s really a good feeling, but everyone understands perfectly well that this is ‘Žalgiris.’ This team is used to playing in European cup tournaments, overcoming more than one stage. Probably everyone expects that, the expectations are high. I haven’t achieved anything impressive here. Everyone expects that ‘Žalgiris’ is capable and should pass one, two, three qualifying rounds, or maybe even play in the main tournament. I’m just glad that during this turbulent period, when we were ‘wavering’ so much, the game finally stabilized,” reasoned A. Skerla.
In the second qualifying round, the Vilnius team will meet Tbilisi “Dinamo,” which eliminated Luxembourg representative “Mondorf-les-Bains” with a 3:2 aggregate after extra time in a two-legged tie.
“Dinamo” is one of the most famous names in Georgian football and the most titled club in the country. The team is a multiple Georgian champion and cup winner, and its most notable international achievement is the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup won in 1981.
In UEFA tournaments, the Vilnius team has not yet met Georgian clubs. In the past, in the old days, Vilnius and Tbilisi teams met several times in the top USSR league.
During A. Skerla’s press conference, extra time was still being played in Tbilisi, but the “Žalgiris” strategist did not hide that he considered the Georgian club more dangerous.
“I’ll be straightforward – I only saw the goals from the first match, so it’s hard to evaluate, but in my opinion, Tbilisi ‘Dinamo,’ by name and by country, should be a stronger team. Of course, in football, you don’t choose your opponent; we’ll play whoever we get,” said the “Žalgiris” strategist.
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The second qualifying round matches are scheduled for July 23 and 30.
