2017 Lithuanian Football Cup Final
# 2017 Lithuanian Football Cup Final

The 2017 Lithuanian Football Cup Final was the 72nd Lithuanian Football Cup final and took place on 24 September 2017 between Žalgiris and Stumbras. Stumbras qualified for the final for the first time in its history, while Žalgiris were the defending champions, having won the last six finals in the row. Stumbras won the final 1–0 after a late goal by Nasro Bouchareb, who was selected player of the match. Kaunas' side became first club to win the final from their first try after Neris Vilnius did it in 1992 and also managed to break Žalgiris domestic dominance of 14 straight titles in the last 5 years.

Stumbras also qualified for the 2018–19 UEFA Europa League first qualifying round and earned the right to play in the 2018 Lithuanian Supercup.

## Route to the final

| Žalgiris | Žalgiris | Žalgiris | Žalgiris | | Stumbras | Stumbras | Stumbras | Stumbras |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Opponent | Result | Leg | Scorers | Round | Opponent | Result | Leg | Scorers |
| Banga (II) | 1–1 (3–1 p) | away | Ljujić | Round of 32 | Šilutė (II) | 1–0 | away | Lopes |
| Atlantas | 1–0 | home | Elivelto | Round of 16 | Prelegentai (Vet) | 8–0 | away | Konikas (3), Kalvaitis (o.g.), Artimavičius (2), Armalas, Sekgota |
| Panerys (III) | 8–0 | away | Oyarzún, Uzėla (2), Lukša (2), Stočkūnas (2), Šernas | Quarter-finals | Jonava | 5–3 (a.e.t.) | away | Clifford, Villela (3), Sekgota |
| Sūduva | 2–2 (4–2 p) | away | Vaitkūnas, Antal | Semi-finals | Vilniaus Vytis (II) | 1–1 (4–2 p) | away | Nazaré |

## Pre-match

### Awareness

Match attracted a lot of attention from the local press, as well as some from the international sources, mostly from Portugal.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa event came to visit and wish luck to Stumbras during his international trip to Lithuania.

On the other hand, most A Lyga clubs will support Žalgiris, mainly due to rules related with UEFA Europa League qualification.

### Transport

Before the final Lithuanian Football Federation organized special buses for the local fans of both clubs that will allow to comfortably reach the final venue from Vilnius and Kaunas.

### Trophy

On 19 September 2017, interim Lithuanian Football Federation president Vidmantas Butkevičius transferred LFF Cup trophy to Panevėžys city municipality and its mayor Rytis Mykolas Račkauskas. It'll be displayed there until the game.

## Match

| Žalgiris | Stumbras |
| - | - |
| GK | 1 | Armantas Vitkauskas |
| RB | 8 | Egidijus Vaitkūnas (c) | 84' |
| CB | 6 | Mamadou Mbodj |
| CB | 2 | Linas Klimavičius | 88' |
| LB | 5 | Donovan Slijngard |
| CM | 88 | Mantas Kuklys |
| CM | 7 | Slavko Blagojević |
| RW | 21 | Liviu Antal | | 72' |
| AM | 27 | Matija Ljujić | | 87' |
| LW | 80 | Elivelto | 77' |
| CF | 10 | Darvydas Šernas |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 29 | Džiugas Bartkus |
| DF | 4 | Diego Oyarzún |
| DF | 23 | Rolandas Baravykas |
| MF | 16 | Mahamane Traoré |
| MF | 19 | Daniel Romanovskij |
| MF | 21 | Vytautas Lukša | | 72' |
| FW | 9 | Bahrudin Atajić | | 87' |
| Manager: ||
| Valdas Dambrauskas ||
| GK | 1 | Rodrigo Josviaki |
| RB | 31 | Marcos Junior |
| CB | 3 | André Almeida | 37' |
| CB | 20 | Tomas Snapkauskas (c) |
| LB | 5 | Jardel Nazaré |
| RM | 8 | Vilius Armanavičius | 66' |
| CM | 23 | Dominykas Barauskas |
| LM | 80 | Fábio Lopes |
| RF | 9 | Levan Macharashvili | | 55' |
| CF | 70 | Alexandre Kore | | 76' |
| LF | 7 | Lucas Villela | | 90+3' |
| Substitutes: ||
| GK | 12 | Nemanja Bjelan |
| MF | 10 | Klaidas Janonis | | 90+3' |
| MF | 26 | Kgaogelo Sekgota |
| MF | 30 | Dominykas Galkevičius |
| MF | 35 | Joao Victor |
| FW | 25 | Jaisen Clifford | | 55' |
| FW | 55 | Nasro Bouchareb | | 76' |
| Manager: ||
| Mariano Barreto ||
| Man of the Match: Nasro Bouchareb (Stumbras) Assistant referees: Arūnas Dapkus (Lithuania) Edgaras Bučinskas (Lithuania) Fourth official: Mantas Pomeckis (Lithuania) Additional assistant referees: Manfredas Lukjančukas (Lithuania) Mindaugas Jackus (Lithuania) | Match rules 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Seven named substitutes, of which up to three may be used. |
