Although “Metta” as a club has a lot of experience in Premier League relegations, many young players have joined the players in recent seasons, of which only Oskar Vienties has had token experience in relegations.
In the first ten minutes, both teams had the best chances from corners. Kārlis Vilnis took the lead for the Mets, who sent the ball from the left side of the penalty area above the fortress guarded by “Grobina” goalkeeper Gustava Šukste.
In the middle of the first half, Jānis Bek did not have to freeze in goal of “Metta”, because Kurzeme’s team created dangerous attacks, forcing put for the goalkeeper to engage in a fight. Both David Dobretsov and Rodrigo Gauchis scored their tries.
After a very good offensive “Grobina”, “Metta” succeeded in a counterattack, in which the football student of Valmiera Ingars Pūlis made a shot from the penalty area line under the cover of his opponent, giving Rigans the lead by 1-0.
In the 33rd minute Rodrigo Gaučis came close to equalizing, already sending the ball past the home goalkeeper, but Jānis Grīnbergs had occupied the position on the goal line, saving the ball from the “Grobinas” striker with his header.
Ten minutes before the end of the first half, Grobina’s emotions were significantly increased, because after a standard situation, Viktors Ziemelis headed the ball into the goal, but the assistant referee’s flag was raised. When the “Grobina” players protested, “Metta” counterattacked and Ralfs Džeriņš was forced to stop Puli with a violation of the rules. “Metta” thought the foul was worth a red card, but the benches weren’t happy with the yellow card they saw.
At the end of the half, Pūlis made a very convincing claim for the game’s Most Valuable Kicker award, who went on the fast forward after the ball was intercepted by his teammates. When Artjom Puzirevski made a forward pass, Pulis entered the penalty area and overtook Shukstem, making the score 2:0.
Even in the second half, Pulis was the most agile player on the slippery pitch at Hansa Stadium. The “Metta” striker sent the ball past the “Grobiņa” goalkeeper for the third time, but Kārlis Mikulskis saved Kurzemen from getting into a bad situation, who took an example from the opposing player Grīnbergs, saving the ball on the goal line.
In the 79th minute, the entire Grobina substitute bench shook their heads in disbelief. From the far center of the goal, Ivo Gauči failed to send the ball past Bek, thus maintaining “Metta’s” two-goal lead.
Two minutes before the end of regular time, Dāvids Družinin decided on a long-range shot, sending the ball into the top corner of the goal, but Bek, who was playing perfectly, left his fortress empty. When the referee’s final signal sounded, “Metta” put his foot in the door of next season’s Premier League tournament – 2:0.
The second leg will be played on Sunday at the reserve pitch of Liepāja’s “Daugava” stadium. The fight will start at 13:00 and you can watch it live on TV4 channel and Sportacentrs.com live broadcast.
“Metta” – “Grobina” 2:0 (2:0)
Gate: Crowd 28′ 41′.
Warnings: Vienties, Zengis – Mikulskis, Jeriņš, Druzhinin, Volkov, Dobretsov.
Put: Beks – Zengis, Vilnis, Kirkils, Grīnbregs – Keršis, Vienties, Chiniaevs, Correa (Rēkis 60′) – Pulis (Mbassi), Puzirevskis.
Grobina: Shukste – Družinins, I. Gaučis (Samietis 82′), Džeriņš, Mikulskis- I. Ziemelis (Meļķis 64′), Krušatins, Andersons (Volkovs 64′), Knapšis (Kurtiš 71′), – R. Gaučis, Dobretsovs.
Chief Judge: Artis Kēniņš
