Ventspils 3 - 2 K-Rauta (381572927)

A brilliantly sunny day had enticed a crowd of 7000 to Ventspils Stadion. Kazimierz Wach was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Derk Lahner and Marko Pörrö. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Ventspils. They fielded: Drozdov - Erofeev, Mickāns, Virtamo, Kaušs - Krutov, Skaifordžers, Matveev, Freimanis - Donskikh, Nemchinov.

K-Rauta tactics involved an interesting 4-4-2 combination. Starters: Ģīlis - Kločāns, Burdais, Blome, Jurbergs - Kalsnavs, Egle, Tumarov, Hustar' - Roze, Lagotskis.

K-Rauta's V. Hustar' was shown a yellow card for standing over the ball and blocking an opponent's quick free kick after 4 minutes. After 14 minutes of play, D. Nemchinov gave the home team a 1 - 0 lead after an attack coming in from the right. R. Kaušs could have increased the lead after 18 minutes, but his shot hit the post after a nice combination in the middle of the park. A. Krutov increased the lead for Ventspils to 2 - 0, getting a head onto a hooked ball from the right. The ball looked to have taken a deflection on the way in, but he's claiming it! The players of Ventspils now seemed to think the job was done and acted more defensively, just waiting for the ref to blow the final whistle. K-Rauta kept trying to force their way through on the right side and V. Hustar' got his chance after 21 minutes, but the home side's defence held their position and stopped the attack. 23 minutes in, R. Lagotskis made an incredible run up the middle and nearly reduced the home side's lead, but N. Drozdov refused to let the ball slip by him. 27 minutes in, K-Rauta's D. Kalsnavs received a yellow card for going into a challenge studs first. With 28 minutes played, Ventspils's Ē. Freimanis almost extended the lead, but his shot from the left glanced off the top of the bar to fall behind the net. Ventspils's D. Nemchinov was shown a yellow card after 32 minutes for slicing down an opponent. Halftime score was 2 - 0. Possession in this half belonged to Ventspils, who controlled the ball 53 percent of the time.

53 minutes into the match, K-Rauta's N. Roze demonstrated his famed speed as he raced past his marker and passed the ball to R. Lagotskis who chipped it in for 2 - 1. Perseverence paid off for K-Rauta, as their F. Kločāns equalised making it 2 - 2 with a fabulous free kick. 62 minutes into the game, R. Kaušs had to leave the pitch due to a knee injury. In came M. Lankinen. Down the middle came R. Lagotskis, making a fantastic play that nearly had K-Rauta take the lead after 65 minutes, but N. Drozdov preserved the tie. The Ventspils free kick 76 minutes into the match seemed wasted, as the shot was both short and off target. But was this actually a plan? The ball landed at the feet of A. Mickāns, who was completely unmarked in the box. That's 3 - 2! A. Krutov found it hard to catch his breath today in the stifling heat. K-Rauta had a chance to level the score as F. Kločāns suddenly found himself free in the middle of the box with only the keeper to beat, but he misjudged the finish, and only managed to hit the bar. Ventspils had most of the ball, with 57 percent of possession.

Most important Ventspils player was D. Nemchinov. N. Drozdov on the other hand, had a terrible day. D. Tumarov performed admirably for K-Rauta. E. Ģīlis turned in a dismal performance, however. The match ends 3 - 2.