Czech top-flight side Teplice made it two wins from two to start the new league season after defeating Slovan Liberec 1-0 away from home in a Latvian international matchup featuring Oskars Vientiess and Raimonds Krollis.
Both clubs entered the match after winning their opening fixtures last weekend. Vientiess retained his place in Teplice’s starting lineup for a second consecutive match, while Krollis once again began on the bench for Slovan Liberec.
The home side’s hopes suffered an immediate blow as Vasil Kušej was sent off in the opening minute following a reckless challenge. Things went from bad to worse just before half-time when Petr Hodouš also received a straight red card, leaving Liberec with just nine men for the entire second half.
Despite the two-man advantage, Teplice had to wait until the 61st minute to find the breakthrough, with Lukas Mareček scoring the only goal of the match. Liberec still managed to threaten on the counter despite their numerical disadvantage, but Teplice held on to secure all three points.
Vientiess played the full 90 minutes and impressed in central defence. The 23-year-old Latvian, who joined Teplice this summer for a transfer fee, completed 108 of his 109 passes during the match. Krollis came on in the 85th minute and managed one shot on goal.
Teplice will look to extend their perfect start next Saturday when they host Viktoria Plzen, while Slovan Liberec welcome Brno a day earlier.
In Sweden second division the Latvia U-21 international Alberts Aleksanjans came off the bench as Norrkoping recorded their third consecutive victory, defeating Helsingborg 2-0.
The 20-year-old winger entered the match in the 75th minute with his side already holding a two-goal advantage. Aleksanjans has now made 13 league appearances this season, scoring once.
Norrkoping remain top of the table after 17 rounds with 35 points, holding a two-point lead over second-placed Varberg.
