At home, RFS beat its principal opponent “Riga” team 3: 1. The first half ended in a draw 1: 1 (0: 0), but in the extra time the owners of the field scored two more goals.
In the first half, none of the teams took the opportunity to advance to the lead, but in the second half of the game, in the 63rd minute, their guests had the opportunity. RFS goalkeeper Jevgenijs Nerugals was the first to reach the corner kick, but his header was blocked by the keeper. The Colombian just had to leave the goal from a few meters and he did it – 1: 0.
In the 74th minute of the game, when “Riga” was temporarily in the minority due to injury, RFS equalized the result. After the cross, Antons Kurakins was unable to expel the ball from the penalty area, where it was caught by Tomašs Šimkovičs, the RFS midfielder with a strong shot reached 1: 1.
Towards the end of the regular time, emotions hit a high wave not only on the field, but also on the bench benches of both teams. After one of the episodes, the staff of both teams saw the yellow card in front of their eyes.
The regular time ended in a draw 1: 1, so the fight continued with an extra 30 minutes. After 19 minutes, Andrejs Iličs sent the corner kick right to Darko Micevska who headed it sharply past the keeper. The episode provoked heavy protests from the “Riga” side, because in their opinion, the ball had completely left the field before.
Nedeļko Piščevičs received the second yellow card for disputes with the judges, and only “Riga” coaches were expelled from the game. The visitors kept the pressure on to tie the game when, after 30 minutes, Kevin Frīzenbihlers broke through the center and found himself alone with the keeper.
“Riga” ended the duel with nine players, as Saiss was in his second yellow card match two minutes before the end of overtime.
In the second semi-final, last year’s cup winners from Liepaja beat “Valmiera” with the result 2: 0 (0: 0).
The first goal of the wind city was scored by the match in the 57th minute, when Marko Šimičs sent the corner kick to the net after a corner kick. After 11 minutes, Mārtiņš Ķigurs sprinted between the opposing defenders and squared the ball, but the keeper deflected 2-0.
“Liepāja” will play in the Latvian Cup final for the second time in a row and for the first time under the leadership of head coach Nebojšs Vigņevičs.
In the history of the Latvian Cup, since 1936, 38 different club teams have won the prestigious trophy, but since the restoration of the country’s independence, 12 different teams have raised the cup over their heads.
Last season, “Liepāja” triumphed in the cup, beating “Ventspils” in the final.
The final of this year’s competition will take place on October 24 at the stadium named after Jānis Daliņš in Valmiera.
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