FK Auda strengthened their hold on third place in the Tonybet Virslīga standings with a convincing 3-0 home victory over FK Tukums 2000 at Skonto Stadium on Friday evening.
Summer signing Roberts Bočs was handed his first start for Auda following his arrival earlier this month. The 20-year-old, who previously spent time in the Pisa academy and with Italian club Vis Pesaro, started at right-back in Didier Zanetti’s side.
Auda took control of the match in the 29th minute when 18-year-old Ghanaian Andrews Appiah scored his first Virslīga goal. Barthelemy Diedhiou found the youngster inside the penalty area, and Appiah calmly finished with his left foot beyond Tukums goalkeeper Sergejs Vilkovs to give the hosts the lead.
Tukums responded well and came close to equalising before the break. Dāvis Mārcis Valmiers was at the centre of the visitors’ best moments, first forcing Nils Toms Puriņš into a fine save that pushed his effort onto the post. Moments later, Valmiers brilliantly controlled the ball on his chest, burst into the penalty area from the left and found the back of the net. However, after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed as the ball had also struck his arm during the initial control.
Auda doubled their advantage early in the second half through the in-form Jevgeņijs Miņins. The 24-year-old, who had also scored in each of his previous two appearances despite limited playing time this season, capitalised after Eduards Dašķevičs’ cross was only partially cleared by the Tukums defence. The loose ball fell perfectly for Miņins, who rifled a superb strike from outside the penalty area into the corner to make it 2-0 and score in a third consecutive match.
The visitors’ hopes of a comeback disappeared in the 69th minute. Following a long throw-in from Martins Štāls, Helvijs Joksts was caught ball-watching, allowing substitute Kader Koné to react first, race clear on goal and calmly beat Vilkovs in a one-on-one situation to seal a comprehensive 3-0 victory.
No further goals followed as Auda recorded their eighth win in their last nine matches across all competitions, while Tukums suffered their eighth defeat in their previous nine Virslīga fixtures.
Auda return to action on Tuesday when they host FK Liepāja in a rescheduled Round 23 match, while Tukums 2000 will welcome FS Jelgava next Saturday.
FK Auda vs FK Tukums 2000 – 3-0 (1-0)
Goals: Appiah 29′, Miņins 64′, K.Kone 69′
| # | 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 |
25 | 15 | 4 | 6 | 42 | 26 | 16 | 49 |
| 4 |  FK Liepāja |
26 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 36 | 38 | -2 | 37 |
| 5 |  BFC Daugavpils |
26 | 10 | 6 | 10 | 33 | 31 | 2 | 36 |
| 6 |  Super Nova |
24 | 8 | 3 | 13 | 26 | 37 | -11 | 27 |
| 7 |  FS Jelgava |
26 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 25 | 44 | -19 | 25 |
| 8 |  Grobiņa |
27 | 4 | 9 | 14 | 19 | 50 | -31 | 21 |
| 9 |  FK Tukums 2000 |
27 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 40 | 54 | -14 | 20 |
| 10 |  Ogre United |
25 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 24 | 65 | -41 | 14 |
