In the first match of the day in the TonyBet Virslīga, FK Tukums 2000 secured their first win of the season by defeating FK Grobiņa 2:0.
An unexpected snowstorm early in the morning affected the match, bringing challenging weather conditions to parts of Latvia. In their previous league match, FK Tukums had been unable to hold onto a lead against SK Super Nova, resulting in a 2:2 draw. Meanwhile, Grobiņa faced their second consecutive defeat, losing to FK Metta 2:4.
Tukums’ manager, Kristaps Dišlers, made one change in the starting lineup compared to the last game, giving Kristaps Krieviņš his first start of the season. In contrast, Grobiņa’s coach, Viktors Dobrecovs, made significant changes, altering six positions in the starting lineup. Notably, starting goalkeeper Vladislavs Lazarevs began on the bench, with Ņikita Piņčuks stepping in.
Unfortunately for Grobiņa, the changes did not yield positive results. Just four minutes into the match, Gustavs Leitāns, playing in his third ever Virslīga game, made an error that Tukums capitalized on. Bogdans Samoilovs found Niks Dusalijevs in the box; Dusalijevs skillfully evaded a defender before finding the net in the bottom left corner with his second touch.
A few minutes later, Grobiņa found themselves in deeper trouble. Goalkeeper Ņikita Piņčuks made a poor tackle just inside the penalty area, resulting in a penalty kick. Ingars Pūlis, who had scored both goals for Tukums in their last match against Super Nova, successfully converted the penalty.
Grobiņa tried to respond quickly, but Tukums’ goalkeeper Raivo Stūriņš had other ideas, making two crucial saves to maintain their two-goal lead. Towards the end of the first half, Grobiņa’s manager, Viktors Dobrecovs, received a red card for vocally protesting a refereeing decision, particularly regarding a tackle by Anmanis on Galata, which led to Galata being carried off the field.
In the second half, despite the windy conditions, the game continued to favor Tukums as they pressed forward and created several chances. Ņikita Piņčuks managed to prevent even more goals, but Grobiņa struggled offensively and failed to generate any significant threats. The match concluded with a final score of 2:0 in favor of FK Tukums 2000, marking their first victory of the season, while FK Grobiņa now faces a three-game losing streak.
In their next match, FK Tukums 2000 will play an away game against RFS on Wednesday, while FK Grobiņa will face SK Super Nova the following day.
FK Tukums 2000 vs FK Grobiņa – 2:0 (2:0)
Goals: Dusalijevs 4′, Pūlis 8′ (Penalty kick)
Yellow Card: Rogovs 32′, Anmanis 45′, Pūlis 79′ | Pinčuks 7′, Kalmarzy 36′, Sdaigui 41′, Džeriņš 63′
TUK: Stūriņš – Rogovs, Reingolcs, Semeško, Valmiers (Kholod 85′) – Anmanis – Dusalijevs, Samoilovs (Joksts 74′), Krieviņš, Kiršs (Sirbu 70′) – Pūlis (Bekima 85′)
GRO: Pinčuks – Rupeiks (Fjodorovs 59′), Družiņins, Bekili – Galata (Raščevskis 46′), Mickevičs (Steinfelder 71′), Leitāns, Krautmanis (Kouao 59′) – Gaučis – Sdaigui, Kalmarzy (Dobrecovs 59′)
| # | Club | GP | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
| 1 | FC RFS | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15 |
| 2 | FK Auda | 7 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 13 |
| 3 | Riga FC | 7 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 12 |
| 4 | FK Metta | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | -5 | 10 |
| 5 | BFC Daugavpils | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| 6 | FS Jelgava | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 |
| 7 | FK Liepāja | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 7 |
| 8 | SK Super Nova | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| 9 | FK Grobiņa | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -6 | 5 |
| 10 | FK Tukums 2000 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -7 | 5 |