RFS earn their third narrow win over FK Auda this season

In the final fixture of Matchday 19 in the TonyBet Latvian Virslīga, RFS edged past a tenacious FK Auda side with a narrow 1–0 victory at LNK Sporta Parks, thanks to a brilliant second-half goal from Petr Mareš.

Following their Riga derby defeat to Riga FC, RFS head coach Viktors Morozs rang in two changes to his starting XI, bringing in Lasha Odisharia and Roberts Savaļnieks from the outset. Jevgēņijs Nerugals retained his place between the posts, making just his second Virslīga appearance of the season.

On the other side, FK Auda boss Jurģis Kalns made a surprise call by handing goalkeeper Niks Daniels Aleksandrovs his first top-flight start since 2023, leaving regular starter Roberts Ozols on the bench. Ivory Coast’s Kader Koné, who scored the winner in Auda’s previous match against FK Grobiņa, earned his first start of the campaign.

The opening stages were cagey, with the first real moment of danger coming in the 15th minute, when Auda’s Bolivian striker Enzo Monteiro attempted an acrobatic strike off a long throw-in, only to send it wide. RFS registered their first shot on target seven minutes later, but Jānis Ikaunieks’ effort was straight at the alert Aleksandrovs.

Auda came close in the 29th minute as right-back Emīls Birka unleashed a toe-poked shot from inside the box, only to be denied by Nerugals. Moments later, RFS thought they had taken the lead when Darko Lemajič headed in a Dmitrijs Zelenkovs cross, but after a VAR review, the goal was chalked off for offside.

The best chance of the half fell to RFS defender Žiga Lipušček, who rose highest from a corner in the 39th minute and looked certain to score, only for Aleksandrovs to pull off a superb diving save, keeping the match goalless at the break.

After halftime, RFS cranked up the intensity. Multiple set-piece threats gave Serbian midfielder Stefan Panić the chance to work his free-kick magic, but he was twice denied — first by the wall, then by Aleksandrovs who made a sharp save from a well-placed shot toward the bottom corner.

Auda responded with their own scare as Monteiro turned smartly in the box and fired just over the crossbar. However, it was RFS who finally found the breakthrough — and what a goal it was.

Under pressure from Auda’s pressing, RFS calmly built out from the back, completing a remarkable 22 consecutive passes before Mareš finished the move himself. After bursting forward, the Czech midfielder fed Ikaunieks, who swung a precise cross to the far post. Lemajič headed the ball back across the face of goal, and Mareš was there to nod it home — scoring his first goal of the season and capping off a sensational team move.

RFS looked fresher and more cohesive as the match wore on, and remarkably, head coach Morozs did not make a single substitution, trusting his starting eleven to see out the full 90 minutes.

Auda offered little in the way of a response in the second half, failing to truly test Nerugals as RFS secured their third one goal win over Auda this season. The reigning Latvian champions bounce back emphatically after their derby disappointment, while Auda’s three-game winning streak comes to an end.

FC RFS vs FK Auda – 1:0 (0:0)
Goals: Mares 71′
RFS: Nerugals, Mares, Lipušček, Prenga, Savaļnieks, Panic, Odisharia, Zelenkovs, Ikaunieks, Njie, Lemajic
AUD: Aleksandrovs, Kragliks (Camara 88′), Wassom, Birka, Hrvoj, Nguena, Ogunniyi, Clemente, Kone (Varslavāns 61′), Meļņiks, Monteiro (Traore 76′)

Virslīga Matchday 19 games:

• 21.06.2025 – BFC Daugavpils vs FK Tukums 2000 – 1:2
• 21.06.2025 – FK Liepāja vs FK Metta – 1:0
• 22.06.2025 – FS Jelgava vs FK Grobiņa – 0:1
• 22.06.2025 – Riga FC vs SK Super Nova – 2:0
• 22.06.2025 – FC RFS vs FK Auda – 1:0