Football players of “Valmiera”. Photo: Valmiera FC
On Saturday, the leading team of the tournament “Valmiera” celebrated a devastating victory in the first game of the 24th round of the “Optibet” Latvian football superleague. Valmieri beat the “Tukums 2000″/”Telms” team 6:1 (4:0) at the Jānis Daliņa Stadium.
In the 20th minute, after Camilo Mena’s pass from the end line of the field back into the penalty area, Masaki Murata scored a goal after the ball ricocheted into the lower left corner. Two minutes later, Mena executed a corner kick from the right side, Roman Jakuba headed the ball further to the left, where Raimonds Krollis scored his 15th goal of the season with his foot. In the 38th minute, after a pass from Alvja Jaunzem, the goal was credited to Krollis, who scored it already the second goal in the game, but in the second minute of the half-time compensation time, Djibril Gay headed the ball into the goal after Murat’s cross from the right side – 4:0.
In the 54th minute, with several short passes, Valmierians overcame the area in front of the guests’ penalty area, and Mena sent the ball from the penalty area line into the right corner of the goal – 5:0. In the 73rd minute, Emils Birka made it 6-0, who in a quick attack from the left came face to face with the visiting goalkeeper Helmut Saulitis and sent the ball into the right corner of the goal with his left foot. In the first minute of the compensation time of the match, the “dry” game for the home goalkeeper Rihards Matrevic was spoiled by Ingars Stuglis, who, after executing a corner kick from the right side, headed the ball into the lower left corner of the goal, the ball hitting the goal post first – 6:1.
“Valmiera” drew 1:1 with “Auda” in the previous round, thus allowing the opponents to get closer in the tournament table. On the other hand, Tukumniki lost 0:2 to Valmieri’s closest follower RFS. Raimonds Krollis, the attack leader of the Vidzeme club, is the best “bomber” in the Super League with 14 goals, Camilo Mena is also playing productively, having scored nine goals and assisted in equally accurate shots. Markus Kruglaž has scored four times for Tukums.
It is significant that the “Valmieras” team is led by Jurģis Kalns, under whose leadership the Tukuma team once entered the Latvian Super League. In the first two rounds, “Valmiera” won 3-0 in both matches. In the continuation of the round, “Riga” will host the “Metta” team in the capital on Sunday and RFS will fight with Salaspils “Super Nova” footballers, while “Liepāja” will compete with “Auda” in the windy city. On Monday in Jūrmala there will be a match between the local team “Spartaks” and “Daugavpils”.
“Valmiera” is at the top of the tournament table with 60 points in 24 games, RFS is in second place with 52 points in 23 matches, and “Riga” is third with 47 points in 22 matches. Behind the first three is “Liepāja” with 44 points in 22 games, “Auda” has 38 points in 23 games and “Daugavpilij” – 24 points in 22 matches, while “Tukums 2000″/”Telms” team has 20 points in 24 duels. Jurmala “Spartak” and “Metta” have 14 points in 22 matches, while “Super Nova” has 11 points in 23 matches.
Ten teams are playing in the 2022 Super League. Last season, RFS triumphed for the first time in the club’s history, Valmiera took second place, and Liepāja won the bronze. Meanwhile, the champion team “Riga” of the previous three seasons took fourth place.
In the “Optibet” Future League season, the first three places were taken by the “Auda”, “Tukums 2000″/TSS and “Super Nova” teams, joining the super league clubs. The games are planned to be held in four rounds from March 11 to November 13.
