Žalgiris President Full of Praise After Rout
Andrius Tapinas was full of praise for the Split side after his club lost 5:2 in the first leg of the Conference League third qualifying round.
Andrius Tapinas was full of praise for the Split side after his club lost 5:2 in the first leg of the Conference League third qualifying round.
Hajduk demolished Žalgiris 5:2 in Vilnius on Thursday evening, taking a huge step toward the Conference League play-offs. But what particularly resonated after the match was not just the emphatic victory, but also the statement from the Lithuanian club's president, Andrius Tapinas, who spared no words of praise for the Split side.
Tapinas shared an honest analysis of the match on his Facebook profile, admitting that quality proved decisive. "We learned a lesson from a European-level team. Their players are individually stronger than ours and they don't forgive even the slightest mistakes. Quality prevailed. Hajduk is a beast on a different level," Tapinas wrote.
Despite the convincing defeat, the Žalgiris president was not ashamed of his team's performance. He stressed that his players did not shut up shop and managed ten shots on goal. "I'm a bit sad, but not ashamed. As I said, our team is a work in progress and the coach has a lot of work ahead of him. We'll go to Split next week and try to play well," Tapinas added.
The match was marked by a lively Michele Šego, who gave Hajduk the lead as early as the 5th minute and scored his second goal in the 44th minute. In the second half, Adrion Pajaziti (56'), Dalisson (73'), and Rokas Pukštas (75') all found the back of the net, while Žalgiris's consolation goals came from Nikola Petković (35') and former Hajduk player Marko Capan (86').
This victory carries extra weight because Hajduk ended a long streak of 11 European away matches without a win. The last time the Whites celebrated away from Poljud was on September 17, 2020, when they beat Macedonian side Renova 1:0 in Skopje. In the meantime, they recorded seven defeats and four draws, including heavy losses to Galatasaray, Tobol, Villarreal, and PAOK.
Gonzalo García's side now holds a comfortable three-goal advantage ahead of the return leg at Poljud, scheduled for August 13 at 9 PM. However, there can be no room for complacency, as last season's elimination by Pafos serves as a warning, when Hajduk squandered a 2:0 lead in the return leg.
The winner of the Hajduk-Žalgiris tie will face the winner of the clash between Poland's Raków and Sweden's Hammarby in the play-offs, with the first leg having ended goalless.
