“Their style of play can suit us” – Jablonec’s Cedidla looks ahead to their match against Riga FC

by Gregors Spricis

The UEFA Conference League table is slowly taking shape as we enter Matchday 3 of the third-tier European club competition. Riga FC are eager to get their first-ever European win, having failed to defeat either Kairat Almaty or Pafos FC in the previous two matchdays despite their numerous chances created in front of goal.

Their next opponents, however, haven’t shown a worse display, even though they’ve faced arguably two of the strongest sides in this year’s competition. The Czech side FK Jablonec suffered a narrow 3:2 defeat to Bundesliga’s third-best side this season, Freiburg, before drawing 0:0 to the surprise package of the Premier League – Brighton.

One of the main figures of Jablonec’s strong backline in the draw against Brighton, Martin Cedidla, hopes that this result is one they can build upon.

“Of course, for us the point we earned against Brighton is a big success. I hope we can build on that and continue with our performance. We probably had two of the strongest opponents at the start of the campaign, so I’m really happy that we have at least one point against Brighton, and let’s hope we can build on that against Riga.”

Cedidla also revealed that having two strong matchups at the start of the campaign has played a massive part in gaining useful experience that will come in handy in their future European fixtures.

“I believe that those matches can definitely help us because it’s important for us to have experiences like this in matches against tough opponents. So now, tomorrow it is time to show that we can really build on that in the next matches.”

This is not the first time Latvian football fans have heard of Jablonec. The club from the Czech Republic is visiting Riga for the second time this season, having previously knocked out RFS in the UECL 3rd qualifying round in August.

When comparing the two Latvian capital clubs, Cedidla highlighed how different both sides are.

“From my point of view, the teams are different because in RFS there are more players from Balkan countries, and here in Riga FC there are more players from Africa, and also a coach from Slovakia, which is pretty close to us. I believe that Riga’s style of play can suit us and be good for us.”

Adrian Gula has a history in Czechia, previously managing Viktoria Plzeň and being linked with the Sparta Praha job shortly before he was appointed as the head coach of Riga.

Cedidla’s comments may stem from Gula’s previous experience in Czech football, suggesting that elements of his coaching philosophy could make Riga’s style familiar to Jablonec.

Once asked about Riga’s strengths and weaknesses, the 24-year-old Czech defender avoided answering.

“We would like to keep it a small secret for the match, but of course we know about their strong sides and weaknesses. However, we don’t want to talk about it now.”

At the same time, though, the Jablonec defender acknowledged Riga’s threat in attack, with them creating over 2xG in both of their UECL matches so far.

“For us, nothing changes. Of course, we know about those statistics, but we play every game as if we want to keep a clean sheet, so it will be the same tomorrow. Of course, we expect quality from Riga, and we know about it.”

Both sides will go into this game eyeing their first win of the campaign, but Jablonec are not overvaluing their strengths.

“I wouldn’t say that we are the favourites, but the mood in our dressing room is really good, and we’re concentrated and ready for the game [against Riga].”

As Ahmed Ankrah declared after Riga’s away draw against Pafos: “We will play in the Conference League semi-finals.” It may sound like an ambitious dream for now, but dreams need a starting point. A victory over the Czech side that brought Latvia’s newly crowned champions down to earth would be exactly that. If Riga are serious about turning Ankrah’s words into reality, this is the kind of night when they must begin to prove it.