Following an Optibet Virsliga seventh-round victory against RFS (3:1) teams head coach Jurgis Kalns shared his thoughts about the game.
Thank you to the players for their dedication in all 90 minutes of the game. Thank you to the supporters that were in the stands and were really loud. I’m twice as happy that in this match that was full of emotions we managed to get a win and return home in a really good mood. We as a team and our supporters can be satisfied with the result.
The first half was nearly perfect for us, we did our best using the speed and controlled the ball spicing things up and making the correct decisions on the pitch. Two quick goals allowed us to be in a comfortable lead without allowing the opponent to create anything.
During the half-time, we talked a lot and knew that nothing was done just yet. We knew that RFS would go out there motivated and trying to push their own game on to us. If we were in their position I think that we would have done exactly the same in the second half. They managed to get a quick goal and that gave them a confidence boost while we were in a slight knockdown. We quickly re-shaped our game. Actually, we had a game plan for when we would go up by one or two goals so we knew what to do. Still, we have to understand why we were a little scared. The on-pitch lead that we had in the first half was already gone. RFS didn’t stop and believed that they could win the game.
I want to thank our goalkeeper Rihards Matrevics who saved the team on multiple occasions. When we thought that the ball is in the net Rihards didn’t allow for that to happen and that is the reason why he’s our main guy and that’s why he’s also a national team player. That is exactly the performance we expect. Of course, he had issues entering the ball in the game using his feet maybe that did affect us as well.
We had to defend with everything we could, however, I believe that in games like this one, players and the whole team grow. We got the results, at the end we got the third goal so now with good emotions we can prepare for the next games. The win against RFS is in the past now Super Nova and two games against big teams are on our agenda – Liepaja and Riga. We have to be 100% ready to play with the same dedication and emotions against all of these teams.
