Riga FC secured a narrow 2–1 victory over Georgian side Dila Gori in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League second qualifying round, but failed to preserve a two-goal cushion as the visitors pulled one back late in the game at Skonto Stadium.
The home side had a golden opportunity midway through the first half. Raivis Jurkovskis surged into the box down the left flank and forced a save from the Georgian goalkeeper Davit Kereselidze. The rebound fell kindly, and Jurkovskis headed the ball to Orlando Galo, but the Costa Rican failed to make clean contact from close range, squandering the chance.
In the 35th minute, the stadium held its breath as Iago Siqueira struck the post from a promising position. The ball rattled the woodwork, and even the stadium DJ momentarily celebrated what seemed a sure goal, but the score remained 0–0.
Kereselidze’s time-wasting eventually earned him a yellow card just before halftime from Scottish referee Donald Robertson, who added five minutes of stoppage time.
Riga finally broke the deadlock in the 51st minute. Siqueira, involved again, delivered a pinpoint cross to Reginaldo Ramíres, who powered a header under the crossbar to make it 1–0 just before the break.
Ramírez had two chances early in the second half to extend the lead. First, he failed to convert a low pass from Meissa Diop. Then, instead of closing in on goal, he opted for a long-range effort that didn’t trouble the keeper.
In the 66th minute, Riga doubled their lead from a well-executed corner. Joao Grimaldo delayed his delivery, and Dila Gori’s defenders lost track of Siqueira, who charged in and headed the ball into the far corner to make it 2–0.
However, the visitors grew into the game and began threatening with long-range shots. With the game being more opened up, their persistence paid off after a set piece earned from a soft foul by Maksims Toņiševs. Deo Basinga’s strike was parried by goalkeeper Krišjānis Zviedris, but the ball rebounded off El Bashir Ngom’s leg and into the net, cutting the deficit to 2–1.
The match ended 2–1, leaving the tie finely poised ahead of the return leg in Georgia on July 31. Riga will need a solid performance away from home to secure progression.
Riga FC v FC Dila Gori – 2:1 (1:0)
Goals: Ramires 45+6’, Siqueira 66’ | Ngom 86’ (Own goal)
RIG: Zviedris, Toņiševs, Musah, Ngom, Jurkovskis, Galo, Ankrah, Siqueira (Contreras 82’), Diop, Ramires (Taiwo 72’), Grimaldo (Mankenda 72’)
DIL: Kereselidze, Chabradze, Etou, Araujo, Rukhadze (Tiboue 85’), Drame (Edudzi 46’), Andronikashvili (Ouattara 70’), Konte, Bassinga, Shekiladze (Bughridze 70’), Parulava (Anoff 80’)
