Hajduk secured a convincing victory over Lithuanian side Žalgiris in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League third qualifying round. The match, played in Vilnius, saw the hosts suffer a heavy 5-2 defeat. Bilin have thus gained a significant advantage ahead of the second leg, which will take place at Poljudo Stadium next Thursday.
The match began at 19:00, with Hajku taking control of the game early on. Šego opened the scoring in the 5th minute, and his contribution was confirmed with a second goal in the 45th minute. He finished the first half with two goals, having laid the foundation for his team's lead.
Following the interval, Hajku continued to dominate. Pažaitis increased the lead to 3-0 in the 56th minute, while Dalison and Paškas further dismantled the hosts' resistance. Dalison scored in the 73rd minute, and Paškas added another two minutes later, in the 75th minute, setting the score at 5-0 for the away side.
Žalgiris sought to find a way back into the game, managing to do so through Petković, who reduced the deficit to 1-5 in the 35th minute. Later, Pa, a former Hajku player, scored from a free kick in the 86th minute, reducing the gap to 2-5. Although Šotek scored in the 90th minute plus two seconds to make it 6-2, the goal was disallowed for offside.
This result gives Hajku a significant advantage, as the winner of the two-legged tie advances to the play-off round of the Conference League. There, they will face the winner of the tie between Poland's Raków and Sweden's Hammarby. Žalgiris entered the third qualifying round after losing 3-0 to Dinamo Tbilisi in the first leg, but won the second leg 7-2.
