After Optibet Virsliga 7th round match Valmiera FC goalkeeper Rihards Matrevics shared his thoughts with the media on the match and victory against RFS team.
Valmiera FC goalkeeper Rihards Matrevics: ”During the match, there were episodes that helped me gain confidence. Of course, we were pushed to play defensively but still, we took opportunities of our own, and the guys did a great job. In the episode where I stopped the ball on the goal line, I just stood in the net and patiently waited for the ball to come through, it was very important to read the situation correctly. If the goalkeeper plays in a technically correct manner he has to catch these balls. At the moment when we managed to get a 2:0 lead, I hoped that we would score some more because we had the chances. What I didn’t want was to allow a goal at such an early point of the second half which changed the tempo of the game. Emotions played a big role today but you have to get over that wall even though it isn’t easy. We had to come together and play as a team and I think that we did exactly that in a way. The most important thing is what the scoreboard shows and it was in our favor. We tried to push all we could, we adapted well, changed the formation and manner that was more focused on now allowing the opponent to get past us. I didn’t go to celebrate Ndoye’s goal on the other side of the pitch because I wanted to preserve energy and emotions so that I can have a calmer head. We for sure know that all teams will lose games at some point as for example Riga did. Our task is to learn from our mistakes and keep marching forward. For me it’s also cool that the team has a new goalkeeper coach, we are already working together but still have to learn to understand each other fully.”
