Photo: “Valmiera FC”
“Valmiera” footballers lost to the “Flora” team of Tallinn with the result 0:2 (0:1) in the Livonia Cup match between Latvian and Estonian champions in Tallinn on Sunday. In the 32nd minute of the game, Sergejs Zeniov took the lead from Tallinn, who scored a penalty kick.
From the middle of the second half, or the 68th minute, Valmieri played with ten men, as defender Maksims Toniševs received a red card. “Flora” strengthened their lead four minutes before the end of regular time, when Nikita Mihailovs made it 2-0 after a pass through the goal.
In the first half, the goal of “Valmiera” was guarded by Klāvs Lauva, but in the second half Dāvis Veisbuks took his place. Likewise, in the Vidzeme team, which lost a large part of the main team during the offseason, Daniels Balodis, Roberts Veip, Ivan Želizko, Alvis Jaunzems, Pape Fal, Djibril Gay, Meisa Diop, Kristiāns Kaušelis, Renārs Varslavāns, Kristers Neilands, Jēkabs Laguns, Niks Dusalijevs, were on the field. Emils Birka and Niks Sliede, but Kristers Čudars, Kristers Volkov and Ingars Pūlis remained in the reserve.
The Livonia Cup was played six times previously – in 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2011 and 2018. The trophy was won three times by the “Skonto” club from Latvia, but in the last three meetings between the champions of Latvia and Estonia, the Estonian club “Flora” from Tallinn won.
The agreement reached by the Latvian and Estonian football federations in 2017 on the restoration of such a tradition provides that the Livonia Cup will be held alternately in Latvia and Estonia every year. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this tournament was canceled again in 2020.
The initiators of the idea of the Livonian Cup competition between the countries of the current territory of the historical Livonian Order were once representatives of the Estonian side. The Livonian Cup is a trophy of unknown origin obtained before the Second World War, restored by goldsmith Jaaks Tammist. This year, the Livonia Cup also got its own identity, created by the artist Jānis Burmeisters.
