With plenty of nerves and tension, but once again Valmiera came out on top in the end — securing another three points in the Altero.lv LIIGA second stage and moving closer to their season’s goal. This time, the away match in Riga against SK Super Nova-2 finished 3–0.
Before kick-off, the two sides were separated by just a single point at the top of the table, with Valmiera in first place. The coaching staff knew that without full effort and strict discipline in following the game plan, beating this opponent would not be easy.
In some ways, the early goal — scored by Niks Savaļnieks after a pass from Ritvars Krists Zauska in the 4th minute — both helped and hindered. For some, it may have created the illusion of an easy win ahead; for others, that the job was already done. But football is a game of 90 minutes full of twists and turns.
The rest of the first half was messy from Valmiera’s perspective — many errors and wasted opportunities, even though they controlled possession and hardly allowed the home side near Haralds Kalniņš’s goal. It certainly wasn’t the most entertaining half to watch. Fortunately, the strong support of Valmiera fans on the touchline gave the players an extra push.
In the second half, Super Nova-2 opened up more, which meant Valmiera’s defense had to work harder, but it also created more space in attack. One such breakaway led to a penalty, earned by Yusuke Omori, who calmly converted it himself — 2–0.
As the game drew to a close, the only real question was whether Valmiera would add another goal, or if the home team would find a way back. The answer came from Omori once again: cutting inside from the left, his shot deflected off both a defender and the goalkeeper, but still found its way into the net — 3–0.
Moments later, the final whistle blew.
Next up, Valmiera FC faces the longest away trip of the season — on September 20th in Liepāja, at the “Olimpija” stadium, against FK Karosta. Kick-off at 17:00.
