Late goals and wild comebacks light up Latvian Cup fourth round

The fourth round of the Latvian Cup wrapped up today with a dramatic match in Rīga, where Riga Mariners from the Nākotnes Liga edged past Valmiera FC 4–3 after extra time — an encounter that delivered plenty of drama and intensity. Just a day earlier, Leevon PPK pulled off the comeback of the round, overturning a 1–4 deficit to defeat FK Salaspils 5–4 in an instant classic.

Today’s only cup tie saw Riga Mariners take on Valmiera FC — a club that, despite winning the Virslīga in 2022, now plays in the third division after financial collapse. And on the pitch, it was evenly matched between two sides from different ends of Latvian football’s current pyramid.

Valmiera took a 1–0 lead through veteran Mārcis Ērglis in the 25th minute. But his foul early in the second half gifted Riga Mariners a penalty, calmly converted by Nākotnes Liga top scorer Algirdas Gražis to level at 1–1.

Richmond Owusu’s header made it 2–1 to Valmiera, and they looked set to edge out the Mariners — but a second penalty, again dispatched by Gražis, made it 2–2 in the final minutes of regular time.

The task got harder for the visitors Valmiera in extra time when substitute Niks Savaļnieks was sent off for two yellows in the second half additional time. Down to ten men, they couldn’t hold on. Eduards Višņakovs gave Riga Mariners their first lead of the match in the 106th minute, before a Daniel Adelekun own goal made it 4–2. Yusuke Omori pulled one back for Valmiera with a late penalty, but it wasn’t enough.

In a wild encounter on Saturday, third-division side FK Salaspils welcomed Leevon PPK in what turned into a rollercoaster match. Salaspils dominated early, racing to a 3–0 halftime lead thanks to goals from Gļebs Cvetkovs, Ivorian forward Traore Boubakar, and Ņikita Lazarenko.

Gabriel Kirkils — with top-flight experience at FK Metta — pulled one back for Leevon PPK, but Salaspils responded through Svetoslavs Čugunovs to restore their three-goal advantage at 4–1.

But then came one of the great Latvian Cup fightbacks.

Roberts Krūms began the charge in the 64th minute. Just a few minutes later in a six minute span, Rūdolfs Muižnieks and Dāvis Trapučka both found the net, leveling the score at 4–4. With momentum on their side, Leevon PPK went for the win — and got it in the 89th minute, when Krūms scored again to complete a famous comeback and send his side through to the next round.

Other Nākotnes Liga teams also advanced to the next round of the Latvian Cup. Mārupes SC comfortably beat Riga United 3–0, while Pļaviņas DM — a fourth-tier side — gave AFA Olaine a scare, scoring three times. However, Olaine netted five to avoid an upset.

Next up: the entrance of all ten Virslīga clubs in the next Latvian Cup round. With teams like Riga FC, RFS, FK Auda and FK Liepāja entering the fray.