The football calendar is flying by, and as summer heads into its second half, the Altero.lv LIIGA is fast approaching its climax — a story in which Valmiera FC is once again an active protagonist.
Under the leadership of Gatis Kalniņš and his coaching team, Valmiera FC has recently played two more matches: first, a painful 2:2 home draw at Jānis Daliņš Stadium against JDFS Alberts-2, and a week later, a dominant 5:0 away win over FK Union / JFK Daugava at the RTU Stadium in Riga.
In the match against Alberts, victory slipped away at the very last moment. Deep into stoppage time, Valmiera’s defense couldn’t withstand the visitors’ final pressure, and after a deflection off defender Ernests Kalniņš, the ball ended up in Ralfs Šakalis’s net. As a result, just like in their first meeting this season, the teams were once again forced to settle for a draw.
The game in Riga, however, told a completely different story — though the opening phase gave no hints of what was to come. The scoring began right at the 30-minute mark, when Rojs Bušs poked the ball past the keeper during a physical challenge — 1:0. Eight minutes later, Rodžers Krasts doubled the lead with a header from a corner.
Just after the break, Bušs netted his second — this time unintentionally, as what seemed like a pass to Edgars Gauračs curled into the goal on its own — 3:0. Then it was Gauračs’s moment: in the 60th minute, he finally got his first goal of the season, finishing off yet another cross from Bušs. He struck again in the 75th minute, this time calmly converting a pass from Yusuke Omori — 5:0.
Only one match remains in the group stage: this Sunday at 14:00, Valmiera FC will host FK Līvāni at the Valmiera Olympic Centre.
After that, the second stage of the tournament begins. The top four teams from each group will form a new group, and it is there — in direct battles — that the 2nd League champion will be decided.
The road to the title is narrowing — and every step counts.
