Kauno Žalgiris Goalkeeper Reveals Drama at Maksimir
Švedkauskas spoke after the heavy defeat to Dinamo (5:0) about the hellish conditions, hitting the post, and the feeling of helplessness against a superior opponent.
Švedkauskas spoke after the heavy defeat to Dinamo (5:0) about the hellish conditions, hitting the post, and the feeling of helplessness against a superior opponent.
Kauno Žalgiris goalkeeper Švedkauskas experienced a real nightmare at Maksimir, where his team was defeated by Dinamo 5:0. After the match, in a candid interview with Tportal, he described not only the dominance of the Croatian champions but also the physical ordeal he endured on the pitch, including moments on the verge of fainting.
"Before the match, you always believe you can surprise and play a good game, but from the first minutes it was clear that the teams are on different levels. We struggled throughout the entire match," Švedkauskas told Tportal.
The Lithuanian team managed to hold on for the first 30 minutes without conceding, but then came a quick collapse. Dinamo scored twice in just two minutes and practically decided the winner. Švedkauskas admitted he felt the inevitability of defeat.
"Maybe the match would have looked different if we had gone to halftime at 0:0, but honestly, I had the feeling that the goal was only a matter of time," he said.
Although he had to pick the ball out of the net five times, the Kauno Žalgiris goalkeeper believes he could have reacted better to only one of the goals. "After a 5:0 defeat, it's hard to find something positive. I only regret the first goal because I touched the ball and maybe I could have saved that shot. With the other goals, it was very difficult to react. My view was often blocked, and the ball came suddenly. We knew Dinamo likes to shoot from distance on the first touch, and that's exactly what happened," he explained.
In addition to Dinamo's dominance, the Lithuanians were also exhausted by the extremely difficult weather conditions at Maksimir, where about 12,000 spectators watched the match. Švedkauskas revealed frightening details of his battle with heat and pain.
"In the last 15 minutes, I was on the verge of fainting several times. Whenever I shouted louder to my teammates, my vision went dark. Maybe the head collision with the post at the first goal contributed to that, but it was extremely humid and hard to play. If it was like that for me, I can imagine how it was for the players who ran the whole match," he recounted.
Finally, he commented on the loud support from the stands, but emphasized that it was not what decided the match. "The atmosphere didn't bother me. The only problem was that we could barely hear each other on the pitch, so I had to shout. The difference was not made by the fans, but by Dinamo's quality," Švedkauskas concluded, adding that his team will give their all in the return leg, although the domestic championship is also important to them.
