After missing three matches, Latvian striker Raimonds Krollis made his return to action in the Czech First League today, coming off the bench in Slovan Liberec’s 2-0 away win against Baník Ostrava.
The 23-year-old forward had been sidelined with an injury and was not included in Latvia’s national team squad for the September camp, during which they played FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania. His last appearance for Liberec had come on August 17 against Sparta Prague, when he featured for 54 minutes before being substituted.
Since then, Krollis had missed two league fixtures and one cup tie. Today, however, he was back in the squad, starting on the bench. Liberec got off to a flying start, taking control of the match within the opening 20 minutes. Czech U-21 international Lukáš Mašek opened the scoring in the second minute, and Austrian midfielder Ermin Mahmic doubled the lead 17 minutes later.
Krollis entered the pitch in the 61st minute, replacing Mašek. The scoreline remained unchanged, and Slovan Liberec secured all three points. For Krollis, it was his fourth league appearance of the season, with one goal to his name so far.
The victory lifts Liberec to eighth place in the table with 11 points after eight matches. Next Sunday, they face a major challenge as they host reigning champions and league leaders Slavia Prague.
