Following match week 27, Babrungas currently lead Lithuania’s Pirma Lyga with only three rounds remaining in the season. Minija occupy second place while holding a game in hand following a home reverse, whereas Dainava secured a 1-3 victory against Ekranas, and Hegelmann B played out a dramatic 4-4 draw with Tauras in a late contest.
Babrungas, based in Plungė, sit at the summit of the league table and have already guaranteed themselves a finish no lower than second place. Their previous highest standing was achieved in 2024 when they secured third place following the 2015 merger of clubs from Plungė. Meanwhile, second-placed Minija from Kretinga, who reached the cup final during this current campaign, experienced their very first home defeat of the season after having built a 2-0 advantage by the 68th minute against Babrungas. Established in 2017 and presently supported by the Triple M investment group led by Moussa Dembélé, Minija maintain a game in hand as they pursue a maiden promotion to the top tier of Lithuanian football. Historically, a previous iteration of Minija won the Lithuanian Cup and claimed third place in the league back in 1964 prior to an earlier financial collapse.
FC BE1 out of Kaunas have secured seven victories across their previous eight fixtures, holding onto third position after defeating fifth-placed Neptūnas from Klaipėda by a 2-0 scoreline. Tomas Gudaitis is currently tied as the league’s top goalscorer, having netted 17 goals over 24 appearances. In fourth place, Žalgiris B recently put together a 10-match unbeaten sequence before experiencing a subsequent defeat, a win, and a 2-3 home loss at the hands of newly promoted Garliava, who presently occupy tenth position. Vakaris Berenta, the other joint-leading scorer with 17 goals from 27 matches, managed to score for Žalgiris B during this fixture. Seventh-placed Tauras from Tauragė—who parted ways with Belarusian manager Sergey Kuznetsov in August following his prior success with the resource-limited Dainava—shared a 4-4 draw with Hegelmann B. Tauras opened the scoring before hosts Hegelmann B netted twice to pull ahead 2-1. Tauras then responded with three unanswered goals to claim a 2-4 lead by the 65th minute, only for Hegelmann B to strike back in the 81st and 90+3rd minutes to finalise a 4-4 scoreline, securing a crucial point in their battle to move away from the relegation play-off position.
Sixth-placed DFK Dainava from Alytus, who suffered relegation last campaign and have been rebuilt around local talent, trail the promotion play-off spots by 23 points despite a prior 11-game undefeated run that featured a penalty shootout triumph over Toplyga side TransINVEST. They managed a 1-3 away win over struggling Ekranas from Panevėžys. Ekranas, whose last appearance in II Lyga occurred in 2021, have accumulated 15 points and sit eight points behind the relegation play-off zone amidst limited municipal backing shared with FK Panevėžys. BFA hold eighth position after suffering a 0-3 home defeat against Jonava, marking their second consecutive loss following a seven-game undefeated sequence; they are scheduled to face Minija next. Jonava’s victory brought an end to a four-match winless run. Ninth-placed Atmosfera of Mažeikiai, whose highlight of the season was knocking Žalgiris out of the cup, are undefeated in three fixtures and recorded a 3-2 away victory against Žalgiris B.
Further down the standings, twelfth-placed TransINVEST B beat Kauno Žalgiris B 0-2. Kauno Žalgiris B, who share the same points total as Hegelmann B in 13th place following a disastrous opening run of nine straight losses, alongside 15th-placed Šiauliai B—who fell 2-3 to Garliava and occupy the relegation play-off spot after successfully navigating a two-legged play-off against Sveikata last season—round out the bottom half of the table. Lower-division B teams can anticipate strengthening their squads for the closing stretch of the campaign by utilizing players from their senior setups, similar to the approach taken by Šiauliai B in the previous season.
Pirma Lyga action resumes with match week 28 getting underway this coming Friday.
SOURCE NAME: balticfootballnews.com
ORIGINAL HEADLINE: Pirma Lyga overview: Race for promotion heats up
Source: balticfootballnews.com
