Latvian champions Riga FC will take a slender one-goal advantage into next week’s second leg after defeating Hungarian champions Győr ETO 1-0 in the first leg of their UEFA Conference League third qualifying round tie at Skonto Stadium.
Head coach Adrian Gula made a couple of surprise selections in his starting line-up, handing Meissa Diop a start ahead of Salah Oulad M’Hand, while Reginaldo Ramires returned to the XI after a lengthy absence, replacing Muhammed Badamosi.
The hosts could hardly have asked for a better start. Just three minutes into the match, Diop broke free down the right flank and delivered a dangerous cross into the penalty area. Under pressure, 19-year-old defender Balint Selyem failed to deal with it, diverting the ball into the top corner of his own net to hand Riga an early 1-0 lead.
The goal gave Riga confidence and momentum as they dominated possession throughout the opening stages, repeatedly testing the visitors with crosses and set-pieces. However, despite their territorial advantage, they struggled to create further clear-cut opportunities.
Raki Aouani came close midway through the first half with a powerful effort after beating his marker, forcing goalkeeper Samuel Petras into action.
Győr gradually settled into the contest and nearly equalised just a minute later. Poor defensive marking left a visiting attacker completely unmarked inside the penalty area, but the Hungarian champions were denied by the woodwork before beginning to enjoy more possession themselves.
Riga threatened again in the 31st minute after Iago Siqueira was fouled just outside the penalty area. Reginaldo Ramires free-kick was pushed away by Petras, while also his follow-up header was comfortably gathered by the goalkeeper.
The Latvian side carried their narrow advantage into half-time.
Riga again started the second half on the front foot, winning consecutive corners and keeping play inside the visitors’ half, although they were unable to turn that pressure into meaningful chances.
Their best opportunity arrived on the hour mark when excellent combination play between Siqueira and Diop released Orlando Galo inside the penalty area. The midfielder found himself in an excellent position, but his close-range effort was brilliantly denied by Petras.
Diop thought he had doubled the lead in the 71st minute after racing through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and calmly finishing, only for the assistant referee’s flag to rule the effort out for offside.
As Riga pushed for a second goal, Győr became increasingly dangerous on the counter-attack. Goalkeeper Frenks Dāvis Orols was finally called into action in the 76th minute, producing an outstanding acrobatic save to keep out a powerful long-range strike.
He came to Riga’s rescue once again seven minutes later, spreading himself well to deny the visitors after a dangerous counter-attack.
The hosts nearly added a late second goal in the final minute of normal time when Raivis Jurkovskis beat his defender with an excellent piece of skill before firing narrowly over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area.
Despite creating enough chances to extend their advantage, Riga had to settle for a 1-0 victory and will travel to Hungary next week holding only a narrow lead, with a place in the UEFA Conference League play-off round still very much up for grabs.
Riga FC vs Győr ETO – 1-0 (1-0)
