The new Tonybet Virsliga season has been kicked open and started on a positive note. On Sunday evening, the “Valmiera FC” team made the way to the stadium of Hanza Secondary School, where they had to compete with FK “Metta” in the first duel of the season. As expected from the debut game, the match had a wavy pattern, however, the performance of the second half allowed us to go home with three points and a 2-0 victory in our pocket.
Going to the field, the team was in the mood for a spirited fight, however, the start did not give up as the competitors took the initiative. Kristofers Rekis shone the brightest in the match’s opening and managed to create dangerous situations in our penalty area. A lot of work for the defenders, who coped with their duties – Niks Sliede demonstrated his abilities in a certain situation, neutralizing the opponent.
As the game progressed, the temperament and the thread of the game changed, here one team attacked, then the other. In the 29th minute, there was a promising chance for Djibril Gueye, who tried to send the ball into the goal with his head, but the opponent’s goalkeeper was superior in this duel. Before that, however, there was a small amount of panic at our goal, this time Carlos Olses stood out, who perfectly coped with the attempt.
For the second half, Jurģis Kalns made two planned substitutions. Gustavo Silva took Diop Meissa’s place on the pitch, while Frenchman Jeremy Porsan-Clemente played for the first time since recovering from an injury. Watching the game, it was clear to everyone that suddenly the table turned upside down, and the dominance of the Valmiera could be observed on the pitch.
Gueye worked again, Leo Gaucho and Lukas Vapne also shone from time to time, and the kick of the former “Metta” player made the ball hit the goalpost. Moments later, the first celebration could begin – Gaucho broke into the penalty area perfectly and sent the ball to the middle of the penalty area, where Vapne rushed in like the wind, hitting the stunned ball into the goal net and making it 1-0.
For ten minutes, both teams continued the fight, with Valmiera controlling the ball more. The second goal came after a short delay. The corner flag was waived next to Lukass, who made an excellent cross, which was caught by Djibril who flew like an airplane, sending the ball into the goal and making the final score of the game 2-0.
In the remaining time, Renars Varslavans also took the field, and took the fans’ breath away several times with filigree dribbles, narrowly missing a chance to reach 3:0, Gustavo also demonstrated his efforts to attempt and score a goal. One emergency was also in the Olses penalty area, but once again Sliede showed an excellent performance, sending Bruno Melnis’ goal-scoring option to nowhere.
We will play our next game on Friday (15.03) when the team travels to LNK Sports Park, where they will face last year’s Virsliga champions – RFS.