Kauno Žalgiris and Drita remain level after a 1-1 draw in Kaunas, leaving the return trip to Kosovo to decide their UEFA Champions League first qualifying round tie.
Head coach E. Černiauskas kept his 4-1-4-1 intact and saw it click early despite Joris Moutachy collecting a yellow card in the 2nd minute. The hosts controlled the rhythm through the back line, with Rokas Lekiatas stepping forward to supply Amine Benchaib for a 24th-minute finish that hemmed in Drita’s narrow 4-3-1-2 and kept Blerim Krasniqi quiet before the break.
Drita steadied under Z. Ramadani after the interval. Benchaib’s booking in the 53rd minute offered the visitors a foothold and Blerton Sheji’s yellow at 58 underlined the spiky midfield battle. Černiauskas responded with a triple substitution in the 66th minute, bringing on Nosa Iyobosa Edokpolor alongside fresh options in attack and midfield, and Gratas Sirgėdas followed in the 77th minute. The additional energy, though, delivered containment rather than a second goal.
Ramadani’s double swap at the 71st minute, introducing Liridon Balaj and Arb Manaj and withdrawing Kristal Abazaj among others, finally stretched the Kaunas back four. Raddy Ovouka pushed higher on the left and his service produced the equaliser, Krasniqi scoring in the 82nd minute to silence the home crowd. Krasniqi then departed four minutes later as Drita protected tired legs, before Anton Tolordava’s late booking in the 88th minute signalled the end of Kauno Žalgiris’ push.
Tactically, Drita’s diamond suffered whenever Lekiatas stepped out, but once Ovouka advanced they found a route around the home block. Kauno Žalgiris relied on Benchaib threading runs off the lone centre forward, and once that focal point faded the structure looked rigid. Drita will view the away draw as permission to press higher next week, while Černiauskas must find extra craft between the lines before travelling to Gjilan.
The second leg in Kosovo will decide the tie with the aggregate at 1-1 and no away-goal safety net. The winner remains on course for the second qualifying round, while the loser moves into the UEFA Europa Conference League qualifiers. For more on this week’s Champions League preliminaries, read Ararat-Armenia vs Riga.
Key moments:
- 2nd minute: Joris Moutachy booked.
- 24th minute: Amine Benchaib scored, assisted by Rokas Lekiatas.
- 53rd minute: Benchaib booked.
- 58th minute: Blerton Sheji booked.
- 66th minute: Kauno Žalgiris made a triple substitution led by Nosa Iyobosa Edokpolor.
- 71st minute: Liridon Balaj and Arb Manaj on for Drita.
- 77th minute: Gratas Sirgėdas on for Kauno Žalgiris.
- 82nd minute: Blerim Krasniqi scored, assisted by Raddy Ovouka.
- 86th minute: Drita substituted Krasniqi after his equaliser.
- 88th minute: Anton Tolordava booked.
