Tonight, the Latvian champions concluded their lengthy European campaign, suffering a 0-1 defeat in their final UEFA Europa League match against Dynamo Kyiv. RFS finished their debut Europa league run with one win, two draws, and five losses.
- This was Dynamo Kyiv’s third match against a club from Latvia in all European competitions. Previously, they got the better of Liepājas Metalurgs twice, winning 4-1 and 4-0 in the second qualifying round of the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League.
- Like FC RFS coming into this match, Dynamo Kyiv were also eliminated from the competition, neither team having even mathematical chances of reaching the Top 24.
- Viktors Morozs made one change to the starting lineup compared to their historic victory against Ajax, with Rostand Ndjiki starting in place of Cedric Koaudio.
- The best chance of an otherwise uneventful first half fell to Janis Ikaunieks, whose header following a great cross from Roberts Savalnieks was saved by the Kyiv goalkeeper.
- The second half began with pressure from Dynamo Kyiv, but first significant opportunity came to substitute Cedric Kouadio. He found himself all alone at the far post but failed to connect with the ball, shooting wide of the goal.
- The match’s first goal came in the 76th minute when RFS faced some misfortune in their penalty box. A cross was sent into the box but Herdi Prenga’s clearance inadvertently hit a Dynamo player, ricocheting straight to Oleksandr Pikhalyonok, who was perfectly positioned to capitalize on the rebound. He made no mistake and scored.
- RFS sprung to life but did not manage to mount a comeback, thus ending their UEFA Europa League league phase campaign with a 0-1 defeat.
- RFS finished the campaign with five points from eight games in 32nd place out of 36 teams – Ludogorets from Bulgaria, Dynamo Kyiv, Nice from France, and Azerbaijani Qarabag finishing under RFS. Prior to the start of the league phase, RFS were predicted to finish dead last with no more than 2 points.
Dynamo Kyiv vs FC RFS 1-0 (0-0)
RFS: Ondoa – Odisharia, Lipušček, Prenga, Njie (Mareš 80′), Savaļnieks (Silagadze 85′) – Zelenkovs (Lemajic 80′), Panic, Marhiev – Ndjiki (Koaudio 46′), Ikaunieks