FS Jelgava’s U19 side saw a two-goal advantage disappear as they opened their UEFA Youth Champions League campaign with a 2–2 home draw against Icelandic KA Akureyri.
Valērijs Redjko’s team made the perfect start in Jelgava, with Rūdolfs Laķis and Andriāns Muižnieks striking before the half-hour to put the Latvian champions in control. At half-time, Jelgava also held the statistical edge – ten shots to eight, three on target, and four corners to one.
But the second half belonged to the visitors. Akureyri pulled one back from the penalty spot in the 57th minute, before finding an equaliser seven minutes from time. By the final whistle, the Icelanders had shaded the statistics too – 17 shots to 14, with five on target to Jelgava’s three.
Several players in Jelgava’s side have already been exposed to senior football. Centre-backs Valters Purs and Mārcis Šust started Saturday’s sensational 4–1 Virslīga win away to RFS, while captain Ādams Dreimanis has also made league appearances this season. Goal-scorers Laķis and Muižnieks have yet to debut in the top flight but were included in Virslīga match squads; at the weekend, they turned out for the club’s reserves in Liepāja, where Laķis scored twice and was later sent off in a 2–2 draw against Karosta.
Jelgava qualified for the Youth Champions League as last season’s Latvian U18 champions, edging Skanste by three points. This year they again lead the domestic U19 standings, with Laķis topping the scoring charts on 14 goals.
The return leg in Akureyri is set for October 1, with the winner progressing to face Greece’s PAOK in the second round.
Elsewhere in the Youth Champions League striker Roberts Kukulis featured for four minutes as Inter drew 1–1 away to Ajax in Amsterdam.
Last season, BFC Daugavpils reached the second round of the champions’ path after a penalty shootout win over Northern Ireland’s Cliftonville, but were heavily beaten by Sassuolo in the following stage. Jelgava will hope to at least match that achievement.
