# 2017 A Lyga

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.
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.
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.
2015 LFF I Lyga champions FK Lietava changed they name to FK Jonava after received permission from Lithuanian Football Federation.
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.
Before the beginning of the season, newcomers Šilas were accused of match-fixing during a 2017 Virsligas Winter Cup match with FS METTA. Soon after Lithuanian Football Federation started an investigation to determine validity of these claims. At the time all club trainings and friendly matches were revoked. 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.
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.

### Clubs and locations

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 |
| Atlantas | Klaipėda | Klaipėda Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 1,000 | 4th |
| Jonava | Jonava | Central Stadium of Jonava | Natural | 1,008 | 6th |
| Jonava | Jonava | Jonava Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 558 | 6th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 8th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 8th |
| Stumbras | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Natural | 9,180 | 5th |
| Stumbras | Kaunas | NFA Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 5th |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 3rd |
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | ARVI Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | 3rd |
| Trakai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 2nd |
| Trakai | Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 2nd |
| Utenis | Utena | Utenis Stadium | Natural | 3,073 | 7th |
| Utenis | Visaginas | Visaginas Artificial Football Pitch | Artificial | 212 | 7th |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 1st |
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | 1st |

### 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.
| Team | Head coach | Captain | Kit manufacturer | Shirt sponsor |
| Atlantas | Igoris Pankratjevas | Andrius Bartkus | Puma | — |
| Jonava | Mindaugas Čepas | Tadas Eliošius | Adidas | — |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Johnny McKinstry | Ignas Dedura | Hummel | BC Žalgiris |
| Stumbras | Mariano Barreto | Klaidas Janonis | Hummel | Ibumetin |
| Sūduva | Vladimir Cheburin | Algis Jankauskas | Joma | Sumeda |
| Trakai | Oleg Vasilenko | Deividas Česnauskis | Nike | Ecoil |
| Utenis | David Campaña | Aurimas Tručinskas Guille Smitarello | Adidas | Baltijos polistirenas |
| Žalgiris | Aleksandr Brazevich (interim) | Egidijus Vaitkūnas | Nike | TOP Sport |

### Managerial changes

| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Position in table | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Laimis Bičkauskas | Resigned | 26 October 2016 | Pre-season | Vitalijus Stankevičius | 3 January 2017 |
| Jonava | Robertas Poškus | Sacked | 14 December 2016 | Pre-season | Donatas Vencevičius | 14 December 2016 |
| Trakai | Serhiy Kovalets | End of contract | 16 December 2016 | Pre-season | Oleg Vasilenko | 19 January 2017 |
| Utenis | Oleh Boychyshyn | End of caretaker spell | 9 January 2017 | Pre-season | Zvezdan Milošević | 9 January 2017 |
| Utenis | Zvezdan Milošević | Sacked | 26 April 2017 | 5th | Oleh Boychyshyn (caretaker) | 26 April 2017 |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Vitalijus Stankevičius | Mutual consent | 2 May 2017 | 8th | Laimis Bičkauskas (caretaker) | 2 May 2017 |
| Utenis | Oleh Boychyshyn | End of caretaker spell | 15 May 2017 | 5th | David Campaña | 15 May 2017 |
| Atlantas | Konstantin Sarsania | Signed by Zenit Saint Petersburg | 27 May 2017 | 4th | Sergej Savchenkov (caretaker) Rimantas Žvingilas (caretaker) | 28 May 2017 |
| Atlantas | Rimantas Žvingilas Sergej Savchenkov | End of caretaker spell | 21 July 2017 | 4th | Igoris Pankratjevas | 23 July 2017 |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Laimis Bičkauskas | End of caretaker spell | 21 July 2017 | 8th | Johnny McKinstry | 21 July 2017 |
| Jonava | Donatas Vencevičius | Sacked | 1 August 2017 | 6th | Mindaugas Čepas | 2 August 2017 |
| Žalgiris | Valdas Dambrauskas | Resigned | 23 October 2017 | 2nd | Aleksandr Brazevich (interim) | 24 October 2017 |

## Regular season
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sūduva | 28 | 17 | 8 | 3 | 65 | 28 | +37 | 59 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 28 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 51 | 22 | +29 | 58 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 3 | Trakai | 28 | 15 | 9 | 4 | 45 | 22 | +23 | 54 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 4 | Atlantas | 28 | 8 | 9 | 11 | 33 | 33 | 0 | 33 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 5 | Utenis | 28 | 8 | 8 | 12 | 24 | 41 | −17 | 32 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 6 | Jonava | 28 | 8 | 7 | 13 | 29 | 45 | −16 | 31 | Qualification to Championship round |
| 7 | Stumbras (O) | 28 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 23 | 42 | −19 | 22 | Europa League first qualifying round and relegation play-offs |
| 8 | Kauno Žalgiris | 28 | 3 | 6 | 19 | 19 | 56 | −37 | 15 | Relegation to I Lyga cancelled |
* ↑ Stumbras qualified for the Europa League first qualifying round by winning the 2017 Lithuanian Football Cup.

### Results
## Championship round
### Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Sūduva (C) | 33 | 21 | 8 | 4 | 73 | 31 | +42 | 71 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 33 | 20 | 7 | 6 | 62 | 31 | +31 | 67 | Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Trakai | 33 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 53 | 27 | +26 | 64 | Qualification for the Europa League preliminary round |
| 4 | Jonava | 33 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 53 | −13 | 38 | |
| 5 | Atlantas | 33 | 8 | 12 | 13 | 39 | 43 | −4 | 36 | |
| 6 | Utenis | 33 | 8 | 9 | 16 | 30 | 56 | −26 | 33 | |

### Results

| Home \ Away | ATL | JON | SŪD | TRA | UTE | ŽAL |
| Atlantas | — | — | — | — | 2–2 | 0–3 |
| Jonava | 2–2 | — | — | — | 3–0 | — |
| Sūduva | 1–0 | 2–1 | — | — | — | 3–0 |
| Trakai | 2–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | — | — | — |
| Utenis | — | — | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | — |
| Žalgiris | — | 2–4 | — | 1–0 | 5–2 | — |

## 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.

### 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.
* Leader – Qualification to Champions League first qualifying round
* Qualification to Europa League first qualifying round
* Qualification to Europa League preliminary qualifying round
* Qualification to relegation play-offs
* Relegation to 2018 I Lyga
| 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

## 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%$^†$ |
Source: A Lyga, LFF
^ — 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.
2017 A Lyga awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Karolis Laukžemis (Sūduva) |
| Young Player of the Year | Oscar Dorley (Trakai) |
| Manager of the Year | Vladimir Cheburin (Sūduva) |
| Golden Boot | Darvydas Šernas (Žalgiris) |

### Quarterly awards

Player of the Round :
| Period | Player | Rf |
| First Round (1–7) | Andrei Panyukov (Atlantas) | |
| Second Round (8–14) | Oscar Dorley (Trakai) | |
| Third Round (15–21) | Darvydas Šernas (Žalgiris) | |
| Fourth Round (22–28) | Wasn't announced | Wasn't announced |
Coach of the Round :
| Period | Coach | Rf |
| First Round (1–7) | Valdas Dambrauskas (Žalgiris) | |
| Second Round (8–14) | Oleg Vasilenko (Trakai) | |
| Third Round (15–21) | Oleg Vasilenko (Trakai) | |
| Fourth Round (22–28) | Wasn't announced | Wasn't announced |

## "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.
In 2017 season following players have had this evaluation:
* Žalgiris — Egidijus Vaitkūnas, Saulius Mikoliūnas, Vytautas Lukša, Mantas Kuklys, Darvydas Šernas, Georgas Freidgeimas, Linas Klimavičius
* Trakai — Deividas Česnauskis, Valdemaras Borovskis, Arūnas Klimavičius
* Atlantas — Linas Pilibaitis, Tadas Labukas
* Sūduva — Vaidas Slavickas
* Utenis — Pavelas Leusas
* Kauno Žalgiris — Ignas Dedura
Furthermore, Karolis Chvedukas was eligible to receive his "Heart" during the season, as he met qualification criterios.