With a 3–0 away victory in Salaspils late on Saturday evening against FK Salaspils, Valmiera FC has effectively achieved its season’s main goal — promotion to the Nākotnes League. But the work isn’t done yet — the team still has two matches left to complete their mission: to win the Altero.lv LIIGA championship title.
The match in Salaspils will be remembered for two things.
The first took place off the pitch — in the stands. Throughout the entire game, the home team’s match announcer crossed every imaginable boundary of professionalism, constantly “entertaining” the home fans while at the same time amusing — and occasionally infuriating — the large and vocal Valmiera supporters who had travelled to the game. Even warnings from the match delegate and interventions from other officials couldn’t silence him. Such a spectacle is rare in Latvian football and will almost certainly lead to disciplinary action from the Latvian Football Federation’s Disciplinary Committee.
The second thing worth remembering happened on the field — the superior effort, fight, and fitness of Valmiera’s players. However, breaking down Salaspils’ defense wasn’t as easy as hoped. The opening goal only came at the end of the first half, when Rodžers Krasts found the net from close range — 1:0.
Early in the second half, some attacking substitutions brought new energy, and Valmiera began to dominate. The second goal followed soon after: Rojs Bušs crossed from the right, finding captain Mārcis Ērglis, who turned away from his marker and fired home with his right foot — 2:0.
The final blow came from Bušs himself — after an excellent run down the left by Ritvars Krists Zauska, his pass deflected via Niks Savaļnieks to Rojs, who calmly slotted the ball past the goalkeeper — 3:0.
So, the title celebration is now set for the remaining two home matches of the season — on October 19 at 15:00 against SK Super Nova-2, or, if not then, on October 26 at 14:00 against FK Karosta.
Both matches will take place at Jānis Daliņš Stadium.
Join us — let’s finish this season together!
