Tonybet Virslīga Matchday 15 saw Ogre United battle to a 1-1 draw in Salaspils against FK Grobiņa despite playing the entire second half with ten men, ending their seven-match losing streak in the process.
Yesterday Ogre United officially announced Viktors Mazurs as the club’s new head coach. The Latvian specialist, who recently worked as an assistant coach at Aris Limassol and currently serves as Latvia U-21 head coach, was not yet on the touchline for today’s match.
The home side were forced into an early substitution already in the fifth minute after Vadym Mashchenko picked up an injury, with Johnson Kabagambe coming on in his place.
Grobiņa created the better early chances, forcing several strong saves from goalkeeper Ņikita Parfjonovs, but it was Ogre who struck first in the 33rd minute. Following a quick counterattack, Kristers Čudars delivered a cross into the box where Kabagambe finished from close range to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
The visitors responded before halftime through an excellent free-kick from Lithuanian defender Rolandas Baravykas, whose low strike found the bottom corner in the 42nd minute to make it 1-1.
Ogre’s task became significantly harder immediately after the restart. Defender Haralds Silagailis received his second yellow card in the 48th minute, leaving the home side to play the entire second half with ten men.
Grobiņa dominated possession after the sending-off and repeatedly threatened through Maksims Sidorovs and Artjoms Puzirevskis, but Parfjonovs produced several important saves to keep Ogre level.
The visitors thought they might receive a late penalty after a challenge inside the area, but VAR overturned the decision in the 78th minute.
Despite heavy pressure late in the match, Ogre United held firm to secure only their fourth point of the season and finally end a seven-game losing streak.
After 15 matches, Ogre United remain bottom of the Tonybet Virslīga table with four points, while Grobiņa sit on 13 points alongside FK Tukums 2000 and FS Jelgava in the tightly packed battle between seventh and ninth place.
Ogre United vs FK Grobiņa – 1-1 (1-1)
Goals: Kabagambe 33′ | Baravykas 42′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  RFS |
15 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 36 | 10 | 26 | 40 |
| 2 |  Riga FC |
15 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 48 | 17 | 31 | 36 |
| 3 |  FK Auda |
14 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 29 | 20 | 9 | 28 |
| 4 |  Super Nova |
15 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 17 | 21 | -4 | 20 |
| 5 |  FK Liepāja |
14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 17 | 22 | -5 | 18 |
| 6 |  BFC Daugavpils |
14 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 18 | 22 | -4 | 17 |
| 7 |  FK Tukums 2000 |
15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 13 |
| 8 |  Grobiņa |
15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 24 | -14 | 13 |
| 9 |  FS Jelgava |
14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 10 | 28 | -18 | 13 |
| 10 |  Ogre United |
15 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 36 | -23 | 4 |
