Riga FC’s late rally falls short as RFS take derby glory in a seven-goal game

The Latvian Virslīga season came to an end tonight for both of Riga’s football giants, as newly crowned champions Riga FC fell to a dramatic 3-4 defeat against FC RFS. Despite trailing by four goals at one point, the champions nearly completed a remarkable comeback but ultimately ran out of time.

It was RFS’s first league victory over Riga FC this season, finishing the campaign just one point behind their city rivals. While the rest of the league will complete their fixtures on Sunday, this highly anticipated Riga Derby was rescheduled from Sunday to Friday evening. Both sides fielded their strongest lineups in front of an energetic home crowd.

RFS started with intensity and quickly took control. Just 11 minutes in, Jānis Ikaunieks rose highest to head home Roberts Savaļnieks’s pinpoint cross, scoring his 19th goal of the season. Riga struggled to find their rhythm, while RFS kept pushing forward. Another precise delivery from Savaļnieks led to the second goal – this time Stefan Panić nodded the ball past the goalkeeper to double the lead.

By halftime, Riga FC had started to find some composure, but the score remained 0-2.

The second half began disastrously for the champions. Once again, Savaļnieks delivered a perfect cross, this time connecting with Ismaël Diomandé, whose header made it 3-0 – his third goal of the season. Only a few minutes later, Aleksandar Filipović scored his second goal in as many matches, making it 4-0 and leaving Riga FC in shock.

However, the champions refused to give up. Reginaldo Ramires pulled one back to make it 1-4, netting his 14th goal of the season, and in the 87th minute, Gauthier Mankenda fired a brilliant strike over a surprised Marko Marić to bring the hosts within two goals. Deep into stoppage time, Anthony Contreras added another to make it 3-4, setting up a nervy finish for RFS. But despite a final surge, Riga FC couldn’t find the equalizer, falling just short of one of the greatest comebacks in Virslīga history.

In the closing moments, Elvis Stuglis and Petr Mareš came off the bench to make their final appearances for RFS, as both players will leave the club following the end of the season.

For RFS, the win was a satisfying way to finish a frustrating campaign – one that saw them miss out on the Latvian Cup, the league title, and qualification for the main stage of European competitions. Despite that, they ended just one point shy of the champions.

For Adrián Guľa’s Riga FC, it was only their second league defeat of the season, and their first since March 29 against BFC Daugavpils. The champions close the campaign with four winless matches across all competitions – their longest run without a victory under Guľa.

Riga FC vs FC RFS – 3:4 (0:2)
Goals: Ramires 67′, Mankenda 87′, Contreras 90+3′ | J.Ikaunieks 11′, Panic 28′, Diomande 54′, Filipovic 65′