In the 21st round of Optibet Virsliga, Valmiera FC hosted BFC Daugavpils in the third meeting prior to the season – this time around a convincing victory with 5:1 was earned in a truly amazing spectacle where goals of many variations were scored.
From the get-go, it was clear as a day that Valmiera FC would control things on the pitch. From the very start, the home side had perfect opportunities from corner kicks. Camilo Mena, Djibril Gueye, Raimonds Krollis all had chances to score from game action. The first goal came in the 35th minute – Mena entered the penalty area where he dropped the ball to Zhelizko – a beautiful heel pass followed back to Mena who stopped the ball and left it for the team captain – 1:0 for Valmiera. For the rest of the first half things were dominant for one side but no more goals.
The second half didn’t take too long to bring a goal where a long pass was used and Mena would bolt away from his opponents – he couldn’t be stopped, the goalkeeper came out to play the ball but Mena used his skill to get past him and place a 2:0 on the scoreboard extending the lead further.
In the 56th minute, Mena was once again heading to score but he was so inclined to pass for Krollis, that afterward when placing for the position he tripped in the penalty area and the referee pointed out that an 11-meter penalty would have to be taken. Raimonds Krollis stepped up and convincingly sent the ball in the net to force 3:0. He also had an opportunity to get a hat-trick but that was declined by the Daugavpils men.
The fourth goal of the match followed with Luka Silagadze attempting to send the ball in a dangerous area from a sharp angle but the ball bounced off of the opposing player and flew right into the net. Daugavpils side for a moment woke up from what seemed to be a nap and that was rewarding for them – Ivan Zhelizko sent the opponent to the ground and this time around an 11-meter penalty was given to the visitors. Valerijs Lizunovs managed to beat Rihards Matrevics for the first and only time in the match.
The final say belonged to Alioune Ndoye – Pape Yare Fall crossed the ball into the penalty area right onto the head of his teammate despite opposing efforts to stop the pass from connecting – a header was in and past the goalie to set the final score of the game 5:1.
Our next game will be played on Thursday (21.07) when at Daugavas Stadium in Riga we will begin the UEFA Conference League qualifier by hosting the FC Skhendija team.
