Football league season
The 2017 A Lyga was the 28th season of the A Lyga , the top-tier association football league of Lithuania . The season began on 3 March 2017 and ended on 19 November 2017.[ 1]
All eight teams from the previous season remained and competed in the league, while Žalgiris Vilnius began the season as defending champions having won fourth consecutive league title last year.
Sūduva Marijampolė won the championship for the first time in their 96-year history, becoming the eighth club to win the league since its creation in 1991.
Teams
A total of eight teams should have contested the league, including six sides from the previous season , one promoted from the 2016 LFF I Lyga and the winners of the 2016 A Lyga Relegation play-offs .[ 2]
Utenis managed to withstand against I Lyga runners-up Palanga in the play-offs and for the 3rd consecutive season continued to play in the A Lyga .[ 3]
2015 LFF I Lyga champions FK Lietava changed they name to FK Jonava after received permission from Lithuanian Football Federation.[ 3] [ 4]
Kauno Žalgiris were relegated at the end of 2016 season and replaced by 2016 LFF I Lyga champions Šilas . It was going to be a debut in the top tier for Kazlų Rūda team.[ 3] [ 5]
Before the beginning of the season, newcomers Šilas were accused of match-fixing during a 2017 Virsligas Winter Cup match with FS METTA .[ 6] [ 7] Soon after Lithuanian Football Federation started an investigation to determine validity of these claims.[ 8] At the time all club trainings and friendly matches were revoked.[ 9] [ 10] [ 11] On 24 February, club chairman Audrius Raškauskas announced, that players received a permission to look for the new clubs while Šilas most probably will withdraw from the league into lower divisions of Lithuanian football.[ 12]
On 24 February 2017 Lithuanian Football Federation announced that Šilas withdrew from the league and will be replaced by last year participants Kauno Žalgiris , who were only non-participating team, which received a valid license for A Lyga.[ 13]
Clubs and locations
Locations of the 2017 A Lyga teams
The following teams were competing in the 2017 championship:
Club
Location
Stadium
Turf
Capacity
2016 position
Atlantas
Klaipėda
Central Stadium of Klaipėda
Natural
4,428
4th
Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch
Artificial
1,000
Jonava
Jonava
Central Stadium of Jonava
Natural
1,008
6th
Jonava Artificial Football Pitch
Artificial
558
Kauno Žalgiris
Kaunas
Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Natural
9,180
8th
NFA Stadium
Artificial
500
Stumbras
Kaunas
Darius and Girėnas Stadium
Natural
9,180
5th
NFA Stadium
Artificial
500
Sūduva
Marijampolė
ARVI Football Arena
Natural
6,250
3rd
ARVI Football Indoor Arena
Artificial
2,660
Trakai
Vilnius
LFF Stadium
Artificial
5,067
2nd
Sportima Arena
Artificial
3,157
Utenis
Utena
Utenis Stadium
Natural
3,073
7th
Visaginas [ note 1]
Visaginas Artificial Football Pitch
Artificial
212
Žalgiris
Vilnius
LFF Stadium
Artificial
5,067
1st
Sportima Arena
Artificial
3,157
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Managerial changes
Regular season
Standings
Source:
A Lyga (in Lithuanian) ,
UEFA ,
Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won.
[ 41] (O) Play-off winners
Notes:
Results
First half of season
Source:
A Lyga (in Lithuanian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Second half of season
Source:
A Lyga (in Lithuanian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Championship round
Standings
Source:
A Lyga (in Lithuanian) ,
UEFA ,
Soccerway Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head matches won; 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Matches won.
[ 42] (C) Champions
Results
Source:
A Lyga (in Lithuanian) Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.
Relegation play-offs
The 7th placed team faced the runners-up of the 2017 LFF I Lyga for a two-legged play-off. The winner on aggregate score after both matches earned entry into the 2018 A Lyga.
First leg
Second leg
Stumbras won 5–1 on aggregate.
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological progress, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled, but added to the full round they were played immediately afterwards. For example, if a match is scheduled for matchday 13, but then postponed and played between days 16 and 17, it will be added to the standings for day 16.
Team \ Round
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Sūduva
4
1
3
4
2
2
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
Žalgiris
1
4
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
Trakai
2
2
4
6
5
4
4
4
4
4
4
3
3
3
3
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
Jonava
3
6
6
3
4
6
6
6
7
6
7
6
5
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
4
4
4
4
Atlantas
7
5
2
2
3
3
2
2
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
4
5
4
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5
Utenis
5
3
5
5
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
6
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
4
5
5
5
5
5
6
6
6
6
Stumbras
8
8
8
7
7
7
7
7
6
7
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
6
6
6
6
7
7
7
Kauno Žalgiris
5
7
7
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
8
Updated to games played on 15 November 2017
Season statistics
Top scorers
Updated to games played on 19 November 2017
Hat-tricks
Attendance
Pos
Team
Total
High
Low
Average
Change
1
Sūduva
18,506
4,489
300
1,089
+40.3% †
2
Žalgiris
12,200
1,750
200
718
−8.9% †
3
Utenis
7,245
1,100
92
453
+27.6% †
4
Atlantas
7,100
1,300
200
444
−27.9% †
5
Jonava
5,350
550
120
335
−31.9% †
6
Trakai
4,630
1,000
75
273
+10.1% †
7
Stumbras
2,880
420
70
206
−38.1% †
8
Kauno Žalgiris
2,300
300
70
177
−47.8% †
League total
60,211
4,489
70
478
−4.6% †
^ — Official attendance statistic from one of the Kauno Žalgiris matches was not publicly released.
Awards
Yearly awards
Awards were presented at the LFF Awards ceremony, which was held on December 4. Finalists for voted awards were announced after the season and winners were presented at the award ceremony.[ 49]
Quarterly awards
"Golden Heart" initiative
From 2016 season A lyga together with Lithuanian Football Federation decided to expand project "Bring you hearts to the stadium" and honor players who played 10 or more times for the Lithuania national team with golden heart on their shirts.[ 54] [ 55]
In 2017 season following players have had this evaluation:
Furthermore, Karolis Chvedukas was eligible to receive his "Heart" during the season, as he met qualification criterios.[ 55]
Notes
^ Stadium location
^ a b c Player left the club in the middle of the season.
^ Labukas also played for Trakai during the season.
See also
Competitions
Team seasons
References
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External links
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Related to National team Clubs seasons
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