First victory in Dubai - 2:1 against "Slovan"

First win for our team during training camp in Dubai. Today "Riga Football Club" with the scoreline of 2:1 defeated the Slovak champion "Slovan Bratislava" Goals for our team was scored by Karim Loukili and Arturs Krancmanis. On January 28, we will play against another Slovak club "Žilina".

In the first friendly game, we lost 0:2 to the Polish Ekstraklasa champion "Legia". We played each half with almost completely different line-up, which we did also today against "Slovan".

Already in the first minutes of the game, we controlled the ball very well, we were more active than the opponents and deservedly scored. In the seventh minute, Karim Loukili (1:0) scored from the 11-meter mark. A little later, Wesley Nata made a great pass. Mikael Soisalo in good speed ran into the box, got past defender, then made a good pass, but neither Joselpho Barnes nor Loukili could find a target. At the end of the half, "Slovan" also had some moments, but in all episodes our team was saved by goalkeeper Nils Puriņš. After the first half we were in the lead with 1:0.

The fully different lineup played in the second half. It was quite difficult start of the second half, "Slovan" made good combinations and was active in attack. During the half, several good saves were made by goalkeeper Roberts Ozols. In 62nd minute, Arturs Krancmanis, 18 years old midfielder, scored a beautiful goal. In the middle of the field, Yurii Vakulko played well, later made a pass to Krancmanis, and the midfielder with perfect move made a chance for himself and shot the ball in the far corner (2:0). The joy were short. A minute later, Vladimir Weiss played fantastic individually, and in the end the experienced player sent the ball in the far corner. In the final part of the match, there were opportunities for both teams, but the goals were not scored. "Riga" victory with 2:1.

We will play the next game on February 28. At 16:00 we will play against another Slovak club "Žilina".