Tonybet Virslīga Round 26 concluded on Monday evening with RFS cruising to a 6-1 victory over FK Grobiņa between their UEFA Conference League ties against Czech side Jablonec. The Latvian champions scored four times before half-time, while summer signings Alfa Balde and Duje Korač both marked their Virslīga debuts with goals.
Following last week’s 0-2 defeat away to Jablonec, RFS head coach Viktors Morozs avoided major rotation, keeping seven players in the starting line-up. Summer arrival Alfa Balde made his first Virslīga start, while centre-back Niks Sliede was handed his first league start since May 5, 2025, ending a wait of more than 13 months.
The hosts made a perfect start on a rain-soaked evening at LNK Sporta Parks. After Jānis Ikaunieks’ header from a corner was parried by Roberts Ozols, Stefan Panic reacted quickest to the rebound and fired home to give RFS an early 1-0 lead.
The advantage was doubled soon afterwards in unusual fashion. Maksims Sidorovs attempted to clear the ball from inside his own penalty area, but it fell perfectly for Modou Saidy, whose effort from outside the box was drifting wide before Rostand Ndjiki redirected it into the net to make it 2-0.
There was a brief injury concern for RFS ahead of Thursday’s second leg against Jablonec when goalscorer Panic was seen limping a bit and was replaced by fellow Serbian Strahinja Rakic.
RFS continued to dominate the first half and added two more goals before the interval. Portuguese winger Alfa Balde celebrated his first appearance in the Virslīga with a goal, beating Ozols with a powerful strike from distance, before Aleksandar Filipovic ventured forward from defence to meet an excellent pass from Rakic and calmly finished for 4-0.
The goal fest continued after the restart. Dmitrijs Zelenkovs forced another save from Ozols with a powerful long-range effort, but the Grobiņa defence again failed to clear the rebound, allowing Ikaunieks to tap home from close range for the fifth goal.
Grobiņa did manage to pull one back when Nigerian Oladotun Olatunde-Matthew finished clinically to score a consolation goal. However, RFS quickly restored their five-goal cushion. Breaking two-on-one, Ikaunieks initially saw his effort saved by Ozols, but substitute Duje Korač was perfectly placed to convert the rebound and score on his Virslīga debut.
The match also produced an interesting statistical footnote. Roberts Ozols conceded six goals in a top-flight match for the first time since 2013, when he represented Spartaks Jūrmala in a defeat to Liepājas Metalurgs. Coincidentally, the sixth goal in that match was scored by an 18-year-old Jānis Ikaunieks, who netted the first Virslīga goal of his career.
Ozols prevented the scoreline from becoming even more emphatic in the closing stages with several important saves, denying RFS the chance to equal his personal anti-record for most goals conceded in a league match.
The victory sends RFS back to the top of the Virslīga standings ahead of their crucial UEFA Conference League second leg against Jablonec on Thursday, where they must overturn a two-goal deficit. Grobiņa, meanwhile, will turn their attention to next Monday’s Latvian Cup quarter-final away to defending champions FK Auda.
FC RFS vs FK Grobiņa – 6-1 (4-0)
Goals: Panic 11′, Ndjiki 28′, Balde 36′, Filipovic 45+2′, Ikaunieks 53′, Korač 75′ | Matthew 66′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  RFS |
25 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 62 | 17 | 45 | 65 |
| 2 |  Riga FC |
25 | 20 | 4 | 1 | 76 | 21 | 55 | 64 |
| 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 |
26 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 18 | 47 | -29 | 21 |
| 9 |  FK Tukums 2000 |
26 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 40 | 51 | -11 | 20 |
| 10 |  Ogre United |
25 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 24 | 65 | -41 | 14 |
