Adrián Guľa and Viktors Morozs reflect on their respective team performances after the first Big Riga Derby of Virslīga season 2025, where Riga FC won 1-0 away.
Following a poor start to the season, the Big Riga Derby was a must-win for Riga FC if they were to keep any hopes of competing for the title alive. The Riga lions came into the Saturday fixture on the back of two consecutive wins against Tukums and Grobiņa, each of which they won with a 3-0 result.
In what was a close and highly contested game, Riga FC demonstrated their superior physical form and took the lead in the 81st minute as Orlando Galo headed the ball off a rebound into the net. FC RFS were unable to rise up to this challenge and the game ended with a minimal but exceptionally important win for Riga.
Speaking after the game, the two coaches reflected on the match:
“An important victory for the team. First half was not easy for us because of the wind and we had issues with positioning, especially in the first 15 minutes but then we adapted to this style and we were much better in the second half. We deserved this one goal and we finally scored from a set piece. We showed good character and good team spirit. I believe this is a good signal for us as we were also better physically so, yeah, an important victory“, said RIga FC manager Adrián Guľa.
“Of course, it’s not pleasant to lose but overall we respect this outcome as while the game was even after the first half, our opponents had a clear upper hand in the second half. Even though they did not have many chances, we still felt this. We will continue working, will analyse everything, recover and keep moving forward“, noted RFS manager Viktors Morozs.
In terms of tactical preparations, Adrián Guľa highlighted his team’s adaptability as well as thorough preparations for every contingency before the game:
“We adapted for fast transitions and we needed time to adapt to them as they were very compact at the back and we could not move the ball around quickly. We were ready for them and for this 3-5-2 formation and we knew how to press before the game. The guys knew who will press and who will jump on wing-backs and for me this was important because if you go up against RFS without a game plan and just wait to see what they will do, they can beat you and they can score like they scored many times before – in the first 20 minutes. Zviedris made an amazing save in the first half and kept us in the game so we could wait for our opportunities“
I am very happy because the guys need to feel the way – what we do and what we did before. This is a way for them to be ready physically, to press for the entire duration of the game and not just wait in the middle block.
“Now, knowing the result and thinking back to our thinking during the game, yes, maybe we needed to make more or different substitutions but there is never a guarantee that this would work as it’s always a 50/50 decision and we did not have a 100% solution. We acknowledge that we have a problem with creating chances right now but I do not want to speak about it much as this is our internal issue. Perhaps we had good approaches but players didn’t make the right decisions to escalate those attacks and I understand that this could be the situation and how it looked it the first half. In the second half, we didn’t even have those approaches anymore“, for his part, said Viktors Morozs. “I do not think that we are in a rut. The fixtures are as they are and we need to be ready for it. Yes, we lost a game today and we did not do everything we could to win or even to draw. But overall, everything continues and it’s just the first lap – everything is still ahead“.
Both clubs will play their next fixtures on Thursday, 1st of May as RFS will face 2nd place FK Auda and Riga FC 8th place Super Nova.