Džuris 3 - 0 Zv (286714209)

Weather conditions were fairly good for football, and Melluzh Krajs Arena!!! saw a crowd turnout of 12100. Dietmar Koker was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Jan Hellum and Johnny Hartmann. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Džuris. Starters: Gavrik - Tautvaiss, Bīmanis, Zālmansons, Apelis - Spriņģis, Laizans, Baltruņķis, Sukhoruchenko - Mikhnev, Briksnis.

Zv tactics involved an interesting 5-4-1 combination. Lineup: Radzevich - Kuzhel, Dūms, Tadaiķis, Eriņš, Kristovskis - Denesyuk, Zelmenis, Pintiķis, Grabovskis - Andžāns.

As the 5 minute mark approached, the Zv coach decided it was time for a substitution. V. Dūms reluctantly made way for A. Radziwanowski on the pitch. After 5 minutes, the Zv coach wanted to see a new face on the pitch, waving J. Eriņš off the field. G. Rode took his place. 5 minutes into the match, the referee signalled for a Zv substitution. J. Blouin came on for A. Kristovskis. Against a lesser team, Džuris could very well have succeeded with their smart indirect free kick routine after 11 minutes. A trio of passes took the ball all the way past the defenders, but by then the intended recipient was already blocked off and the keeper could make a leisurely save. Džuris's N. Sukhoruchenko got himself booked for a foul. After 27 minutes a well-practised indirect free kick routine by Džuris was easily anticipated by the defenders. The players forward were so well marked, they were left with few viable options. V. Apelis of Džuris was booked for kicking the ball away after the whistle. After 30 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Zv found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to inadequate. D. Pintiķis's lack of experience almost gave Džuris a goal after 31 minutes, but the shot went right into the keeper's arms. Slack defending gave Džuris a chance to take the lead with 35 minutes played, but F. Tautvaiss's cross from the left flank was fumbled in front of the goal and easily dealt with by the opposition. It was 0 - 0 at the break. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by Džuris, with 62 percent of the ball.

A review of the gameplan helped Zv get back to a solid organisation when the referee blew his whistle again. The opposing supporters gave the referee an earful when he only gave D. Zelmenis from Zv a yellow card after a mistimed challenge from behind 59 minutes into the game. That was far too lenient! A loud groan was heard from the fans of Džuris, as G. Baltruņķis left the pitch in too much pain to finish the match. A. Endzelīns took his place on the field. Džuris took the lead after 61 minutes as a result of G. Briksnis's peach of a shot from the right hand side of the box - placed beautifully in the top corner. 1 - 0. 72 minutes into the game, Zv seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a inadequate level of organisation. The home side's F. Tautvaiss curled a free kick home after 79 minutes, putting Džuris ahead 2 - 0. Džuris were given a gift! The ref dubiously awarded them a penalty 81 minutes into the match, which was neatly put away by F. Tautvaiss. 3 - 0 for the home side. Possession in this half belonged to Džuris, who controlled the ball 61 percent of the time.

The most dominating Džuris player was without a doubt K. Laizans. However, O. Gavrik made a disastrous appearance. Zv's top performer was clearly J. Blouin. U. Radzevich was a disappointment, however. The match ends 3 - 0.