Who exactly are FK Ekranas?

FK Ekranas will play Airtricity League champions Shamrock Rovers in the second qualifying round of the Champions League on Tuesday but what do we know about them?

Where do the play?

FK Ekranas play in Panevezys, a city located 140 km north west of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius.  Panevezys is the fifth largest city in Lithuania and has a population of over 100,000 compared with Tallaght’s population of 70,000. Their Aukstaitija Stadium is smaller than Tallaght Stadium having a capacity of just 4,000. 

What is their history?

The club was founded in 1964 and have won 6 of the 22 titles that have been won since Lithuanian independence in 1990. Ekranas have won the last four Lithuanian titles and have won the double in the last two seasons.  The won the league by a margin of eight points last season and seven points in 2010.

What is there European record?

This is their 10th consecutive season playing in Europe and in total they have played 40 European games, winning 13 of those matches.  Last season, they beat Maltese side Valletta home and away 4-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round of the Champions League.  In the next round they drew the first leg at home 0-0 with BATE Borisov but lost away in Belarus 3-1.   Parachuted into the Europa League play-off round (the same round where Rovers overcame Partizan Belgrade), they were beaten 4-1 on aggregate by Hapoel Tel Aviv having won the first leg at home 1-0.

Have they played Irish opposition before?

In 2005, they were eliminated from the UEFA Cup by Cork City.  City won the first leg in Lithuania 2-0 thanks to goals from Roy O'Donovan and George O'Callaghan. Ekranas won the second leg in Cork 1-0. 

Who are the dangermen for Ekranas?

Well luckily enough for Rovers, Ekranas have lost three key players this month due to financial pressures at the Lithuanian club.  Mantas Sav?nas, Ram?nas Radavi?ius and Andrius Veli?ka, each player having extensive experience playing with the Lithuanian national team, have all left the club.  Velicka was a key man for Ekranas.  The 33-year-old striker, who played 25 times for the Lithuania and who played his club football with Hearts, Aberdeen and Rangers, was their top scorer this season with eight goals from 15 starts. 

Where the goals will come from now he has left, remains to be seen.  Pressure will be on striker Vitalijus Kavaliauskus.  He has scored only twice from seven starts and six substitute appearances this season.  The 29 year old has played 17 times for Lithuania scoring on three occasions.

Key man will probably be Ekranas captain Ignas Dedura.  The defender has played 47 times for the national team and is very experienced having played for five seasons with Spartak Moscow.  He has scored three times this season making him the joint second highest goal scorer with Ekranas. 

What kind of form are Ekranas in?

In late May they played in the Lithuanian Cup final losing 3-1 on penalties after the game with Zalgiris ended 0-0 after extratime.  Ekranas currently sit on top of the table, six points clear of second place.  The only defeat they have suffered in the league was in their first away game of the season. They have conceded only 13 goals in 19 games so far in the league.  In their last competitive game, they got a 92th minute winner in a 3-2 away win with all the goals coming from the now departed striker Velicka.

Their last two games have been friendlies against Polish opposition and they have lost both matches.  They were defeated 2-0 by Jagiellonia Bialystok and lost 2-1 in Poland to Legia Warsaw.  Ekranas have named a 17-man squad for the qualifying phase of the competition; Rovers meanwhile have named a 22 man squad.