Ozolnieki^ 0 - 4 Cats (366388924)

Fairly good weather for football had drawn a crowd of 36887 to anti-plan arena. Joaquím Ramírez was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Hakon Wesener and Bermejo Delgado. A 4-4-2 alignment was the formation of choice for Ozolnieki^. They fielded: Gailis - Olărean, Līkcepure, Shibkov, Uldmanis - Puriņš, Lielmanis, Gailītis, Zunde - Bączek, Shemer.

Cats had chosen a strategic 3-5-2 formation. Starters: Kostrub - Troshkin, Reznikau, Mysouski - Jansons, Cazzaniga, Zirģelis, Beiziters, Eriksen - Leitāns, Silovs.

Using their counter-attacking abilities was the strategy of choice for Ozolnieki^. 0 - 1 was the score with 3 minutes played, after A. Beiziters cut through the central defence and chipped home a goal for Cats. A drive down the left side allowed H. Mysouski to get in close and score another goal for Cats after 5 minutes, taking the score to 0 - 2. After several obvious shirt pulling incidents, H. Mysouski got himself booked. The manager of Cats was not happy. After 15 minutes, there was a bit of a mixup on the field as Ozolnieki^ found themselves out of position and their organisation level dropped to solid. 32 minutes into the match, the visitors put themselves ahead 0 - 3 as S. Silovs finished off an attack from the left with a spectacular scissors kick. 34 minutes into the game, Ozolnieki^ had difficulty finding their positions and their organisation dropped to passable. Some things can only be learned through experience, and E. Olărean should take his lesson to heart after nearly gifting Cats a goal with 37 minutes of the match played. Cats made it 0 - 4 as R. Leitāns got a touch to the floated corner kick and flicked the ball to G. Jansons who whipped a low drive in off the far post. At this point, it was obvious that the players of Cats lowered the tempo and became more defensively oriented. After 40 minutes of game time, S. Silovs had an excellent opportunity to add to the visitors' lead, clipping a volley hooked in from the right, but I. Gailis was in the right place and tipped the ball over for a corner. The home side worked their way through the middle and almost got one back when I. Bączek tried to sneak the ball past the keeper. K. Kostrub was too alert for that! 0 - 4 was the halftime score. Cats had most of the ball, with 60 percent of possession.

The coach gave his players an extra tactical briefing during the break, and after that Ozolnieki^ had solid organisation. R. Leitāns was, after 51 minutes, almost able to extend the visitors' lead with a well placed diving header after the ball had looped into the centre, but the home side's keeper I. Gailis made the save. Coming in from the right, Ozolnieki^ had a good opportunity to convert on a counterattack after 52 minutes, but I. Bączek's attempt to finish was easily stopped. Ozolnieki^'s I. Bączek got himself booked for a foul. R. Leitāns came close to extending the visitors' lead when he found himself completely unmarked in front of the goal after a pass through the middle. He tried to lift the ball over I. Gailis but overcooked it and hit the bar instead. 73 minutes into the game, Ozolnieki^ seemed to suffer a certain amount of confusion and they fell to a weak level of organisation. Cats enjoyed most of the ball, as they maintained 63 percent of possession.

Most important Ozolnieki^ player was I. Bączek. However, E. Olărean made a disastrous appearance. R. Leitāns performed admirably for Cats. K. Kostrub was a disappointment, however. The match ends 0 - 4.