Latvian vice-champion in football RFS and “Valmiera” FC on Thursday suffered a loss in the first round of the UEFA European League qualification.
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RFS lost 0: 1 (0: 0) to Serbian club “Belize” Partizan. The European Cup debuters from Valmiera, on the other hand, acknowledged the superiority of the strong Poznan “Lech” with the guests 0: 3 (0: 0).
Belgrade Partizan – RFS
The first half of RFS and Partizan went without dangerous twists and turns, and RFS respectably stood up to the strong opponent. In the 36th minute after the home strike, RFS was saved by goalkeeper Danilo Kučers, who really got into the fight for the first time in the match. A few minutes later, Tomislavs Šaričs hit the other side of the penalty area on the other side.
The second half of the Rigans started unsuccessfully, as Leonels Strumija played with his hand in the penalty area in the 51st minute. An 11-meter penalty was awarded to the RFS goal by Bibrass Nacho.
In the half, RFS tried to get close to the opponents’ goal a few times, but “Partizan” was closer to the exact shot, as Sejduba Sumahs hit the goal over ten centimeters long. At the end of the penultimate minute of the regular time, Kučers rescued the Rigans again, as well as the protection of the Latvian vice-champion was at the height of the tasks.
In the next ten minutes, the Riga club delivered the ball to the penalty area several times, but until the last shot, which did not change the result of the fight. Darko Lemajičs was allowed to take it quickly by the referee, much to the dismay of the goalkeeper who wasn’t prepared.
Poznan “Lech” – “Valmiera” FC
In the seventh minute of the game, the people of Valmiera were at the first corner kick, followed by a not too strong blow to the head. Further, the opponent’s penalty kick was successfully handled by Rūdolfs Soloha, who also repelled the show from a close distance in the 34th minute.
The Poznań team continued to attack and forced the Valmiera players into the penalty area at the end of the half, but the result remained unchanged. At the beginning of the second half, the game was no longer so dynamic, but “Valmiera” still had difficulties in creating attacks.
In the 59th minute, however, “Lech” revealed the result of the fight. After a long shot, the ball hit the rebound from the “Valmieras” football player on the goal post. The first to bounce off the ball was Michael Isak, who easily overtook Soloh, who lost coordination.
Poznan football players continued to dominate and in the 78th minute after “Valmiera” mistake in starting the attack they reached 2: 0. A swift counterattack by Sweden resulted in a counterattack that was smoothly brought under control by Išaks in the center of the opposition’s penalty area, but his finish went high. A little later the Vidzeme team was saved from the lost goal by a pole, but in the 88th minute after the shot by Filips Ščimaks he had to capitulate for the third time.
This was the second consecutive season of RFS in the first round of the European League qualifiers. Last year, after winning the first game on its field with 3: 2 away, RFS gave up the Ljubljana “Olympia” from Slovenia without winning the first round.
The opponent of Riga, “Partizan” from Serbia with 27 champion titles is the second most successful club in the country. The club’s greatest success was in reaching the finals in the European Cup in the 1965/1966 season, with a 1: 2 concession to Real Madrid in Brussels.
Last season, the “partisans” overcame three qualifying rounds and the European League in Group L with two victories and two draws in six matches, ranked third behind Manchester United and the Dutch club Alkmaar AZ.
Until now, the Belgrade team had not met with the Latvian teams.
In turn, the Polish unit “Lech” is well known to the Latvian public, because at one time the attackers Deniss Rakels and Artjoms Rudņevs played in its ranks. Lech was the last stop in Poland for Robert Levandowski, one of the best footballers in the world today.
Lech’s best results in the European Cups were in the 2008/2009 season, when the team entered the UEFA Cup group tournament, remaining in the third five-team competition and in the third round, Udinese from Italy conceded in the sum of two matches.
The club has previously met with Latvian teams twice. In the first round of the 1992/1993 Champions League, the Poles played Riga “Skonto” 2: 0 and 0: 0, but in 1999/2000. In the UEFA Cup qualifying round, he played “Liepājas Metalurgs” 3: 1 and 2: 3.
Last season in Poland, the club won fourth place, but this season the only championship game failed.
The “Valmiera” team left Latvia with a rather impressive balance – four successes in five games.
