Tukums 2000 trounces Metta to pull clear from the bottom

In the final fixture of the 21st round of the TonyBet Virslīga, FK Tukums 2000 secured a crucial 3-0 victory over fellow relegation rivals FK Metta in sweltering conditions in Jūrmala, gaining valuable breathing room at the foot of the table.

Separated by just a single point heading into the game, the two sides had previously split wins in their earlier meetings this season, setting the stage for a tightly contested showdown. However, it was Tukums who proved dominant in the latest encounter.

Metta head coach Andris Riherts faced a depleted squad, with key absences reshaping the team sheet. Goalkeepers Ņikita Parfjonovs and Kristers Gabriels Bite were unavailable — the former having transferred to Liepāja and the latter returning to FK Auda after the end of his loan. In their place, Alvis Sorokins has stepped up as the new starting goalkeeper. Meanwhile, attacking threat Kristaps Grabovskis was also missing following his recent move to Danish second-division side B.93.

In contrast, Tukums head coach Kristaps Dišlers responded to a previous defeat against Liepāja by reinstating his strongest starting eleven, a decision that paid dividends.

The breakthrough arrived in the 33rd minute. Captain Bogdans Samoilovs delivered a dangerous ball into the box, which Niks Dusalijevs expertly played into the path of top scorer Ingars Pūlis, who tapped into an empty net to make it 1-0. The goal marked Pūlis’s fourth consecutive match with a goal and his 11th of the season, placing him second in the league’s scoring charts behind RFS’s Serbian striker Darko Lemajic, who has 16.

Metta thought they had found an equalizer 15 minutes before full time when Abdul Bangura found the back of the net, but his effort was disallowed for offside. That missed chance proved pivotal, as what could have been 1-1 quickly turned into 3-0.

The second goal came under bizarre circumstances. Tunisian center-back Marouan Mihoubi launched a free-kick from the halfway line that looked harmless, but Metta’s keeper Sorokins misjudged the high ball under the blinding sun and let it slip through his hands and into the net — a howler that doubled Tukums’s advantage.

With Metta pushing everyone forward in a desperate attempt to salvage something from the match — including Sorokins joining an attacking corner — Tukums took full advantage. Substitute Bekima launched a rapid counterattack and coolly slotted the ball into the vacant net, sealing the 3-0 victory.

Having lost their first meeting of the season 2-3, Tukums has now completed back-to-back wins over Metta — first with a 2-0 victory in May and now a resounding 3-0 triumph to open July.

The win lifts FK Tukums 2000 four points clear of last-place Metta and draws them level on points with SK Super Nova in the standings.

FK Metta vs FK Tukums 2000 – 0:3 (0:1)
Goals: Pūlis 33′, Mihoubi 86′, Bekima 89′
MET: Sorokins, Lauan, Minkevičs (S.Kamara 46′), Kangars (Kļavinskis 46′), Vilnis, Scremin (Smilškalns 69′), Ivulāns, M.Kamara, Čiņajevs, Rēķis (Bangura 54′), Saleh (Evelons 54′)
TUK: Stūriņš, Rogovs, Mihoubi, Reingolcs, Kholod (Bekima 67′), Volkovs, Dusalijevs, Samoilovs (Putrāns 67′), Anmanis, Ķiršs (Valmiers 58′), Pūlis

Virslīga Matchday 21 games:

• 30.06.2025 – BFC Daugavpils vs FC RFS – 1:7
• 30.06.2025 – FK Liepāja vs FK Grobiņa – 1:0
• 01.07.2025 – SK Super Nova vs FK Auda – 0:1
• 01.07.2025 – Riga FC vs FS Jelgava – 3:0
• 02.07.2025 – FK Metta vs FK Tukums 2000 – 0:3