Šiauliai — Kauno Žalgiris, A Lyga

Šiauliai lost 0-2 to Kaunas Žalgiris in the A-Liga regular season on Saturday, a result that keeps the visitors firmly in the hunt for the title while Šiauliai remain rooted near the bottom.

The match was quiet until the second half. M. Burba broke the deadlock in the 53rd minute, and the game opened up after that. By then Šiauliai had already picked up two yellow cards, and more would follow as the visitors pressed.

And here's the thing — we had given Žalgiris a win at 68 per cent confidence before kickoff. It was not a guess; they had scored five against Telšiai and kept a clean sheet against Panevėžys, while Šiauliai had not found the net in three straight games. The form line told the story.

The away side finished strongly. A goal in the 92nd minute sealed it, and the fourth yellow card of the afternoon came shortly after. Šiauliai had three bookings by then, which is enough to make a manager nervous about the next fixture.

Statistics do not lie, though they rarely tell the whole story. Žalgiris held 60 per cent possession, registered 10 shots on target and saw seven blocked. Šiauliai managed zero shots on target and had just two corner kicks, which tells you who dictated the tempo.

Žalgiris move up to second with 48 points from 27 games, three behind the leaders. Šiauliai sit ninth with 17 points after 28 matches, and the gap to safety is growing. That extra goal difference matters when the season closes.