RFS draw in UEFA Conference League third qualifying round first leg | The news

Riga, August 4, LETA. Latvian football champion RFS played to a draw in the first match of the third qualifying round of the UEFA Conference League on Thursday in Riga.

RFS played 1:1 (0:1) at home with Paola “Hibernians” from Malta.

The first accurate shot at the visitors’ goal at the “Daugavas” stadium in the sixth minute went to Denis Rakel, but the goalkeeper Ibraim Kons caught the ball.

In the 11th minute, Emerson Santana’s dribble at the left edge of the penalty area was stopped by Taylor Aldama, earning a yellow card, but the free kick play ended with Santana’s shot being blocked. In the continuation of the attack, two corner kicks were executed at the goal of the Maltese team, after the first of which Žigas Lipušček’s kick outside the penalty area was saved by Kon.

In the 26th minute, Taylor earned the second yellow card, leaving the team in the minority.

Although the guests were in the minority, they created dangerous moments at the home team’s goal twice, when goalkeeper Pavel Šteinbor saved them from losing a goal.

In the 29th minute, the yellow card was also shown to the host Artūrs Zyuzins, who was replaced five minutes later by Vladislavs Fyodorovs.

Santana earned a yellow card after a missed 11-meter penalty kick on the visitors’ goal in the 36th minute, but the third standard situation at the goal of the Riga team ended with a lost goal. After a free kick from the left side, former “Metta” and “Riga” player Yunusa Muritala headed the ball further to the right corner of the goalkeeper’s area, where Dunsten Vela sent it to the left side of the goal – 1:0 in favor of the Maltese club.

In the 45th minute, Andrej Ilic had a great opportunity to equalize the score after Tomislav Saric’s cross from the left side, but the ball flew over the goal after his header.

In the 50th minute, Petrs Mareš did not use the opportunity to equalize the result with a penalty kick. He shot into the bottom left corner, but the goalkeeper parried the ball away. The penalty kick was earned by Santana, who was stopped by Rodolfo Soares with an illegal technique, also earning a yellow card.

In the 56th minute, Rakela was replaced by Cedric Kvadio, but in the 77th minute, Elvis Stuglis came on the field instead of Fyodorov, who in the 81st minute hit the goal dangerously, aiming at the left corner, but the goalkeeper was there instead.

There were several substitutions for the guests as well, but in the 85th minute, after the standard situation and the redirection of Stefan Panič’s ball, Ilić leveled the score – 1:1.

In the continuation, RFS attacked almost continuously, and in the 86th minute, Ilić just narrowly missed the right corner of the goal.

In the first minute of extra time of the match, Stuglis hit the goal twice from the middle of the penalty area, but hit the goalkeeper in the middle of the goal.

The return match will take place a week later in Takali, and the winner will enter the “play-off” round in the sum of two matches, where they will face one of the losers of the third round of UEFA Europa League qualifying champions – “Linfield” from Northern Ireland or “Zurich” from Switzerland.

RFS drew 2-2 over two legs with Finnish club Helsinki HJK in the first round of UEFA Champions League qualification, but lost on penalty kicks in the second leg and were relegated to the UEFA Conference League. “Hibernians” lost 0:3 to the Irish club “Shamrock Rovers” of Tallas in the preliminary qualification of the Champions League, but in the second round of the qualification of the Conference League they stopped the Estonian champion “Levadia” of Tallinn with 4:3.

Since July, the Maltese team has included Nigerian striker Yunusa Muritala, who previously played in Latvia for a year and a half with variable success in the “Metta” and “Riga” teams. This season, in the Latvian championship, Muritala scored two goals in nine matches for “Metta”.

After more than half a season, RFS takes the second place in the Latvian championship, while “Hibernians” will start the local championship season only in the middle of August.

“Hibernians” has won the Maltese championship 13 times. Last year, in the same phase, the Maltese met the “Riga” team and after a draw in the sum of two matches (2:2), they conceded two goals in extra time and lost the duel.

In this phase of the tournament, Latvia is also represented by the “Riga” team, which on Wednesday drew 1:1 at home with the Portuguese team “Gil Vicente” from Barcelusa.

Participation in the Conference League was concluded in the second round by Latvian vice-champions “Valmiera” and “Liepāja”.

The UEFA Conference League is the third-tier club competition in Europe, after the Champions League and the Europa League. In May, the Italian team “AS Roma” was crowned the first champion of the tournament in Tirana.

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