With one eye on Thursday’s crucial UEFA Conference League third qualifying round second leg against Dinamo City in Albania, FK Auda made several changes to their starting line-up but still claimed a 1-0 victory over FS Jelgava in the Tonybet Virslīga. Jevgeņijs Miņins’ spectacular long-range strike proved enough to strengthen Auda’s grip on third place.
Head coach Didier Zanetti opted to rotate his squad ahead of the European trip, but his side still managed to extend their strong domestic form.
Both teams threatened during an entertaining opening spell. Auda came close first when Tin Hrvoj’s free-kick from a dangerous position took a deflection and flew narrowly over the crossbar.
Moments later, Jelgava goalkeeper Adam Dvorak gifted possession to Andrew Appiah with a misplaced pass, but the Ghanaian could only fire from a tight angle, allowing the goalkeeper to recover and make the save.
Jelgava immediately responded with their best chance of the first half. Gļebs Žaleiko found himself almost one-on-one with Raivo Stūriņš but opted to shoot early instead of driving closer to goal, sending his effort wide of the post.
The breakthrough finally arrived just before half-time, and it came in spectacular fashion. Miņins’ initial long-range free-kick struck the defensive wall and rebounded straight back to him. Without hesitation, the midfielder unleashed a thunderous strike from around 26 metres that flew beyond Dvořák and into the net, giving Auda a 1-0 lead.
It was Miņins’ first goal of the season and came in only his sixth appearance of the campaign.
Jelgava nearly found an immediate response after the restart. Once again it was the lively Žaleiko who came closest, rattling the crossbar with a powerful free-kick in the 55th minute.
The intensity dropped during much of the second half, with clear-cut chances becoming increasingly rare, although both sides had opportunities in the closing minutes.
Auda almost wrapped up the victory when debutant Brian Pena, who recently joined on loan from Riga FC, tested Dvorak after coming off the bench, but the goalkeeper produced a fine save.
Jelgava then came agonisingly close to snatching a late equaliser. Deep into stoppage time, a well-worked attacking move ended with Roberts Meļķis forcing an excellent save from Stūriņš. From the resulting corner, Rihards Bečers sent his effort inches wide of the post as Auda survived one final scare before the final whistle.
The victory strengthens Auda’s hold on third place in the Virslīga standings with 46 points from 24 matches. They now sit ten points clear of fourth-placed BFC Daugavpils, while Jelgava remain seventh in the table.
FS Jelgava vs FK Auda – 0-1 (0-1)
Goal: Miņins 42′
