Latvian champions Riga FC produced a dominant first-half display to defeat bottom side Ogre United 4-1 in Round 26 of the Tonybet Virslīga, moving back to the top of the table at least until Monday evening.
With Thursday’s crucial UEFA Conference League second leg against Hungarian champions Győr ETO on the horizon, head coach Adrian Guľa heavily rotated his starting line-up. Only Raivis Andris Jurkovskis retained his place from the European fixture, while Abdulrahman Taiwo, new midfield signing Codi Saco and Brazilian centre-back Abner all made their first Virslīga starts of the season.
Riga needed just two minutes to take the lead. Caio Ferreira showed excellent composure by delicately lifting the ball over the advancing goalkeeper to make it 1-0.
The champions doubled their advantage in the 16th minute. Maksims Toņiševs burst into the penalty area before cutting the ball back to Muhammed Badamosi, who finished first time from close range.
Ogre United responded midway through the first half after a costly mistake from Riga. Ukrainian forward Matvii Marusii dispossessed Černomordijs before racing through one-on-one with Krišjānis Zviedris and calmly converting to score his first-ever Virslīga goal, reducing the deficit to 2-1.
Any hopes of a comeback were effectively ended before the interval as Riga struck twice in quick succession. In the 45th minute, Badamosi kept the ball in play following a corner and the resulting delivery found Abner, who won his aerial duel and headed home from point-blank range to score his first Virslīga goal for the club.
Deep into first-half stoppage time, Badamosi turned provider once again, laying the ball off to Salah Oulad M’Hand inside the penalty area. The Dutch/Moroccan winger drifted across the edge of the box before finding space for a low finish into the bottom corner, scoring his eighth league goal of the campaign to go alongside nine assists.
The second half brought little danger until Riga were reduced to ten men. Substitute Raki Aouani lost his composure after releasing the ball and struck Vadym Mashchenko in the head with his hand. The incident initially went unnoticed by the referee, but after a VAR review the Tunisian winger was shown a straight red card.
Moments later, Ogre thought they had pulled another goal back. Following a long-range free-kick, the ball fell to Kristers Čudars, whose effort slipped through the grasp of Zviedris and rolled into the net. However, VAR intervened for a second time, this time in Riga’s favour, with the goal ruled out after Abner had been fouled while attempting to close down the shot.
There were no further goals as Riga comfortably saw out a 4-1 victory, completing their third win over Ogre United this season. The result sends the champions back to the top of the Virslīga standings, at least until RFS host Grobiņa on Monday. Ogre United remain rooted to the bottom of the table, six points behind ninth-placed Tukums 2000 with 11 rounds remaining.
Riga FC vs Ogre United – 4-1 (4-1)
Goals: Ferreira 2′, Badamosi 16′, Abner 45′, Oulad 45+4′ | Mat.Marusii 26′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Riga FC |
25 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 76 | 21 | 55 | 64 |
| 2 |  RFS |
24 | 20 | 2 | 2 | 56 | 16 | 40 | 62 |
| 3 |  FK Auda |
24 | 14 | 4 | 6 | 39 | 26 | 13 | 46 |
| 4 |  BFC Daugavpils |
26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 36 |
| 5 |  FK Liepāja |
25 | 10 | 4 | 11 | 33 | 37 | -4 | 34 |
| 6 |  Super Nova |
24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 37 | -11 | 27 |
| 7 |  FS Jelgava |
26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 25 | 44 | -19 | 25 |
| 8 |  Grobiņa |
25 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 41 | -24 | 21 |
| 9 |  FK Tukums 2000 |
26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 40 | 51 | -11 | 20 |
| 10 |  Ogre United |
25 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 24 | 65 | -41 | 14 |
