Speaking to the press after an important 3-1 away win over FK Auda, Riga FC head coach Adrián Guľa praised his team and provided insight into the game plan and his approach to team management.
Both Riga FC and FK Auda came into this match on the back of very strong results, with both teams winning 4 of their previous 5 games but Riga also having the distinction of being undefeated. With the first match of the season between the two ending in a dramatic 2-2 draw, Riga FC – the big brother in this multi-club ownership setup – had a score to settle.
Following a convincing 3-1 victory over a somewhat reduced FK Auda (due to multiple key players on loan being unable to participate), Riga FC head coach Adrián Guľa reflected on the game:
Generally an important victory for us and, from my side, a good first half. Our plan is working very well because we tried to play a different formation – 3-5-2 – because we want to use the speed in front. We know that Auda play good with the ball and are good in possession and they want to play more through the middle and their striker was narrow, so it was important for us to block this and to try to find a way how we can play very fast behind their back. This was very good and we scored 3 goals. Second half was more specific, I would not say that it was bad, but it was specific.
When asked about how Riga FC manage to keep their squad full of star players equally motivated week in and week out, the coach provided rare insight into squad management: “I spoke with the team and when I came, everybody knows ahead of time that every match 4 or 5 players will sit in the stands. We have ambition and we are a good team, and they are good players, and for them to understand is a day-by-day process and I hope they will understand as we go on. For example, Edu [Eduards Dašķevičs] was in the stands one day and the next time he scored and was a very important player for us. And it’s not just Edu“, said Adrián Guľa. “We need to build a team around more than one leader. This is my perspective. We split the leadership between five guys at the moment and they do a good job but we need to continue because we need to protect this spirit. If we will, together, build values in the locker room, we will be strong”
With this win, and considering that RFS were held to a draw a Jelgava earlier in the day, Riga FC have now reduced their points deficit to defending Champions down to 1 point. Riga FC will host FS Jelgava in the next round on the 10th of May at 18:00 local time, while Auda will travel across Riga to face SK Super Nova the following day at 19:00.