Grobiņa and Jelgava settle for a point to start the season

In the windy city of Liepāja, FK Grobiņa salvaged a point in their opening match of the TonyBet Virslīga season against FS Jelgava, thanks to Rodrigo Gaučis’s equalizer in the 81st minute, ending the game in a 1-1 draw.

Leading up to this match, FK Grobiņa was on an 11-game league losing streak that dated back to the previous season. Both teams battled to avoid automatic relegation last season, but because of the Valmiera FC situation, neither faced relegation. Viktors Dobrecovs and his team were eager to start the new season on a fresh note.

FS Jelgava is taking a new direction this season by hiring former Latvian youth national team manager Aleksandrs Basovs, whose team started the game strong. In the fourth minute, one of the few remaining players from last season, Rihards Bečers, received the ball just outside the box. He turned and sent a beautiful shot into the bottom left corner, beating goalkeeper Vladislavs Lazarevs to give Jelgava an early lead.

As the first half progressed, FK Grobiņa appeared stagnant and uninspired, while Jelgava created several good chances. It wasn’t until the 34th minute that Grobiņa finally made a shot attempt, with Devids Dobrecovs’s long-range shot going just wide of the target.

However, the second half became more entertaining as Grobiņa finally came to life. They created several excellent chances, with Rodrigo Gaučis in the spotlight, but he could not hit the target.

In the 72nd minute, Jelgava had a golden opportunity to double their lead. Bečers took a close-range shot that was skillfully saved by Lazarevs, who flicked it wide with his fingertips. As the saying goes, “If you don’t score at one end, you will concede at the other.” That’s exactly what happened in the 81st minute when Sdaigui found Rodrigo Gaučis, whose shot took a deflection that fooled the goalkeeper sending him the wrong way and found the back of the net— leveling the score at 1-1.

In the following minutes, Grobiņa pressed for the game-winning goal, but as the final whistle blew, both teams had to settle for a point to start the season.

FK Grobiņa will continue their season on Tuesday when they host BFC Daugavpils, while FS Jelgava will play an away game against champions FC RFS on the same day.

FK Grobiņa vs FS Jelgava 1:1 (0:1)
Goals: Gaučis 80′ | Bečers 4′
Yellow Card: Kalmarzy 23′, Bekili 70′, Sdaigui 75′ | Boroduška 54′, Peilāns 63′, Pētersons 76′, Penkevics 89′, Purs 90+3′
GRO: Lazarevs – Leitāns (Bekili 46′), Družiņins, Sidorovs – Kļuškins (Knapšis 71′), Fjodorovs – Halata, Steinfelder (Gaučis 46′), Raščevskis (Krautmanis 64′) – Dobrecovs, Kalmarzy (Sdaigui 71′)
JEL: Dvorak – Pētersons, Veips, Alekseičiks (Purs 28′), Yuzvak – Ullman, Penkevics, Holoubek, Boroduška – Bečers, Peilāns (Kruglaužs 74′)
Referee: Edgars Maļcevs