With World Cup fever sweeping across the football world and summer in full bloom, Valmiera FC has enjoyed a perfect run of three away victories in just 14 days.
The first came on June 14 in Tukums, where Gatis Kalniņš’s side faced FK Tukums 2000/TSS-2, coached by Valerijs Redjko, in an LVBET League fixture. The hosts strengthened their lineup with several rotation players from their Virslīga squad, hoping to gain an advantage against Valmiera. However, they were unable to make a real impact, as the visitors proved superior both individually and collectively.
The star of the afternoon was Mahmadou Dembele, who ended his recent scoring drought in emphatic fashion by netting a hat-trick. Papé Doudou Diouf added another goal as Valmiera cruised to a convincing 4–1 victory and returned home with all three points.
A week later, on June 22, Valmiera travelled to Smiltene for their Latvian Cup Round of 16 tie. Just as in Tukums, the visitors produced another confident 4–1 victory.
Rojs Bušs opened the scoring in the fourth minute before Gleilson doubled the advantage. Smiltene pulled one back through Emīls Kalniņš in the 32nd minute, but Gleilson restored the two-goal cushion before half-time to make it 3–1. Midway through the second half, Valmiera defender Lenny Manisa received his second yellow card and was sent off in the 74th minute. Despite playing with ten men, Valmiera remained firmly in control, and in the closing seconds Vladimirs Stepanovs, after an assist from Fraj Kairmani, sealed the 4–1 win.
The Latvian Cup campaign continues on July 12 at 18:00, when Valmiera will face Virslīga side Ogre United on a home ground.
The third victory of this successful stretch came in distant Ventspils on a Sunday marked by an orange weather warning. Fortunately, the intense heat eased before kick-off as clouds covered the sun and a refreshing sea breeze reached the pitch at Ventspils 2nd Primary School Stadium.
This proved to be Valmiera’s toughest challenge of June. JFK Ventspils displayed tremendous determination and excellent team spirit, frustrating the visitors for much of the match and making it difficult to break down their defence. But sustaining that level for the full 90 minutes proved impossible.
Everything changed after Brazilian forward Gleilson entered the match in the second half. Valmiera gradually increased the pressure until the breakthrough finally arrived. In the 87th minute, Gleilson beat two defenders with a clever piece of skill before curling an excellent finish into the top corner. Just three minutes later, a defensive mix-up gifted him his second goal of the afternoon, effectively ending the contest.
Valmiera returned home with another valuable three points, moving into second place in the LVBET League standings—two points behind FK Metta, while sitting one point ahead of Riga Mariners and two clear of Leevon PPK.
It is Leevon PPK who will be Valmiera FC’s next opponents. The match will take place on July 5 at 15:00 at Jānis Daliņš Stadium.
Match tickets are available exclusively online via www.valmierafc.com.
See you at the match!
