MFF had 1-0 with them to tonight’s return match in the Latvian capital and controlled the first half hour completely, without creating goal chances. But in the 32nd minute Oscar Lewicki and Anders Christiansen combined forward, and the latter found Antonio Colak who placed in 0-1.
Riga came out as another team after the break and equalized in the 57th minute, via Ivan Paurevic’s head after a post free kick. Colak then had a chance to score their second goal before Riga had two great opportunities in the final quarter. The last one saved Johan Dahlin in extra time, and MFF went on with a total of 2-1.
– It is clear that they wanted us to score a goal on those chances to close the match. We did not, and need to get a little better at it. Of course, anything can happen at the end, especially considering the way they play. They kicked quite a bit and took the duels – a physical team, and we knew that. It was about playing around them, and I think we dominated the first half, without playing fast enough, because there was a lot of space, says Jon Dahl Tomasson at the press conference afterwards.
He continues:
– The most important thing after two matches is that we are on. It is very important for the club of course. We knew it could be difficult to play here in the heat, given their style of play. You could see it at the end with their balls and runs along the edges. It was a good save for Johan also in the end – I’m happy to have him back. Our goal was brilliant and it is important that we find each other.
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MFF started off with a rare 4-5-1 lineup, with Eric Larsson positioned in front of right-back Felix Beijmo. Dahl Tomasson explains the formation by saying that Jo Inge Berget was forced to cancel before the away trip.
– Of course we would have liked to play with “JIB”. Eric made two assists against Sirius, and you always get a high energy effort from him and a good reaction when the ball is dropped. But that, of course, is not his real position. Many years ago, I think he played in a 4-4-2 on the right wing, and it became a way to solve everything today.
In qualifying round two, MFF will face HJK from Helsinki. The Finnish team defeated Buducnost Podgorica 7-1 over two matches.
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