Riga FC head coach Adrian Gula said his side had shown “character” and “good mentality” after a late second-half goal gave them a 1-0 win over FK Liepāja, whose coach Andreas Alm admitted his team had not been brave enough on the ball.
Liepāja had chances to change the match, including what Alm described as “a 100% chance” in the second half, but left with no points after a game in which Riga hit the bar and post before eventually finding the winner.
“For me, it is frustrating,” Alm said. “We come here to play. You have to just play. When they defend they have problems, so we just need to make them defend.
“I think what we could have done better was building up. We defended more than we would have needed to. We should have been better on the ball.”
Alm said Liepāja had spoken before the match about being confident in possession, but failed to carry that plan out.
“That was the only thing we spoke about before the game,” he said. “Just be confident. I know when they get to chase the ball a lot, they will have trouble and they will open up. Then we are a good team. I know we can defend. They crossed, crossed, crossed, so eventually something is going to happen. But they don’t create that much. We should do better attacking.”
The defeat came with a personal blow for Alm, as Isajevs was forced off after being given his first start of the season.
“I’m really sad that he got injured,” Alm said. “It breaks my heart. I really think he is a really good person and player to have on a team. He has been pushing through, he has been in a better shape than in many years, and then he gets the chance to play and probably gets a re-injury from an old injury. He is a fighter, he will come back, but I think he deserves more than being injured.”
Alm rejected the idea that Liepāja’s late fatigue pointed to fitness problems, saying GPS data from a recent win at Super Nova showed “the best ever physical game performed by one team in Virslīga”. He added: “If the answer to being not fit is to get cramp, I would turn around and say the players give it all. If you don’t get cramp, have you really given it all? I appreciate them putting it all in.”
Gula, meanwhile, admitted Riga’s first-half structure “didn’t work” and said the switch from a back three was tactical rather than only injury-related.
“We wanted to change before the injury,” he said. “It was not a top performance, but it was important that we kept the intensity. We started the second half much better, with the speed of the game and with the intensity. I think we were better by one goal.”
The Riga coach said the match was not one for the history books, but valued the result more because of that.
“It was a tough game,” Gula said. “It had more tactic than a nice game, but sometimes this victory you have to appreciate. It is not always about 4-0, 5-0, 6-0. Sometimes you need to show character, good mentality, good physical part, and you have to win 1-0 and close the game.”
Riga FC won through a late second-half goal from Iago Siqueira, which head coach Adrian Gula described as “amazing”. Gula also praised his goalkeeper Zviedris, referring to him, as well as Siqueira, as decisive figures in the win, and said that Riga’s improved defensive form was important for the team.
“Today I think we were strong,” he said. “We were in the good position where we needed to be. Really good performance, and the team performance brought a good victory for us.”
Riga also left with injury concerns. Galo went off with an ankle issue, although Gula said the player told him he could be ready “after one or two days”. Emīls Birka faces a longer absence after surgery.
“Unfortunately we lose Emīls for the longest period,” Gula said. “I don’t know exactly, maybe three or four months. I hope less. The situation with his knee was more dangerous than his ankle, and the medical department decided they would do the surgery.”
The result leaves Liepāja still searching for attacking efficiency, with Alm saying their season has not been defined by bad luck.
“I don’t think being unlucky is part of it at all,” he said. “I think we deserve all the points we have got and the points we have not got. We need to score winning goals. That is the key thing for us.”
