Tonight in Turkey, as part of the training camp, we defeated the leader of the Armenian championship “Pyunik” with the scoreline of 2:0. Both goals were scored by Ousseynou Niang. On February 15, we will play against the Ukrainian club “Kolos”.

We played our first test match in Turkey a few days ago, when we lost 1:3 to the well-known Bulgarian club “Levski”. The only goal was scored by Raivis Jurkovskis. Tonight we played against the leader of the Armenian championship “Pyunik”, which in season 2022/2023 played in the Conference League group tournament.

We scored the first goal in the fifth minute. Luis Iberico and Eduards Daškėvičs made a good passing, and in the end Ousseynou Niang scored a goal – 1:0. 20 minutes later, we played perfectly on the opponent’s side of the field, created a quick combination, and Niang scored the second goal in the game (2:0). The opponents also created dangerous attacks at times, and in the 35th minute, Baba Musah made a handball in the penalty area, but the opponent’s attacker did not score from the 11-meter penalty mark. After the first half we were leading 2:0.

In the second half, as usual, the coach made many substitutions. Only Rihards Matrevics and Baba Musah played the whole game. In general, we did not lose quality, we played steadily and the opponents did not have very good opportunities at all. In the 74th minute, 18-year-old Tomāšs Mickēvičs was also given a chance. Two minutes later midfielder made a great pass to Raivis Jurkovskis, the defender made a strong pass, but Abdulrahman Taiwo missed the shot. We had another chance at the end, but we didn’t take it. The final result was a 2:0 victory.

The next game is on February 15 against the Ukrainian top league club “Kolos”. The game starts at 16:00 Latvian time.

Today at the training camp in Turkey we lost to one of the strongest Bulgarian clubs”Levski Sofia” – 1:3. Raivis Jurkovskis scored the only goal for our team.

We have been training in Turkey since February 5, but on Wednesday we played the first test match. Our opponents were the famous Bulgarian club “Levski Sofia”.

We scored the first goal at the very beginning of the game. Raivis Jurkovskis, who was faster than all his opponents, played excellently, and in the end scored in the far corner (1:0). In the first half, “Levski” played more with the ball and created many scoring opportunities. In the 21st minute, Marin Petkov scored a goal (1:1). In the last minute of the half, the referee saw a foul in the penalty area, and Javad El Jemili scored a penalty kick (1:2).

In the second half we already played better, but we lacked a good finishing shot. We made a lot of passes in the penalty area from both sides, but we didn’t score a goal. Jemili also scored the second goal of the match early in the second half, and as it turned out, it was also the last goal of the game. Loss 1:3.

The next game is on February 11 against “Pyunik” of Armenia.

Three players from our academy – Maksims Semeško,  Maksim Parkhomenko and Yevgen Stadnik – have signed professional contracts with the main team.

Maksims Semeško was born on February 19, 2004 in Ventspils, Latvia. Maksims joined our club in 2023. In the previous season, Maksims represented our second team in the Future League. The centre-back scored three goals in 23 games as the team finished second.

Ukrainian football player Maksim Parkhomenko was born on June 16, 2004. Maksim is Ukrainian clubs “Obriy-Trubnyk Nikopol”, “Metalurg Zaporizhya” and “Vorskla” grown up player. During two seasons in the Future League, Maksim played 42 games and scored 23 goals. With 18 goals, Parkhomenko was the top scorer of last season.

Ukrainian Yevgen Stadnik was born on May 12, 2004. Yevgen is “Metalurg Zaporizhya” and “Vorskla” grown up player. Just like Parkhomenko joined our club in 2022. Yevgen has played 45 games in the second team and scored 12 goals.

All three players have already participated in training camps with the main team! Good luck!

The 24-year-old Costa Rican striker Anthony Contreras on loan for the rest of the season will represent the Cypriot Highest league club “Pafos”.

Contreras signed a contract with our club last summer and quickly became one of the leaders of the attack.

In total, Contreras scored 11 goals and made three assists in 22 games.

Raivis Jurkovskis and Marko Regža scored goals in a test match tonight in the United Arab Emirates, and we won 2:0 against one of the strongest teams in South Korea, “Jeonbuk Hyundai”.

We have been training in Dubai since January 8, mostly twice a day. In the test matches, we lost 1:3 to the UAE club “United”, but we won 3:1 against another club of this country, “Emirates”.

On Sunday, we played against one of the most well-known South Korean clubs, Jeonbuk Hyundai. Unfortunately, several players could not play due to injuries, but we started the game very actively and aggressively. In the 12th minute, Miloš Jojić made a cross from the left side, after Kemehlo Nguena’s shot, the goalkeeper saved the opponents, and then Raivis Jurkovskis hit the ball powerfully into the goal (1:0).

Both teams played fast football, both had several pretty good chances. In the second half, the opponents already played more with the ball, but with team spirit we kept our goal to zero. After 45 minutes we were leading 1:0. In the beginning of the second half, Nils Puriņš once saved our team. 20 minutes later, Marko Regža showed great character, won the duel and in the end shot the ball into the far corner of the goal. Victory 2:0.

Tomorrow the team has another training session, but already on Tuesday we will fly to Riga.

Tonight, in the United Arab Emirates, we beat this countries Highest league club “Emirates” with the scoreline of 3:1. The goals were scored by Kemehlo Nguena, Abdulrahman Taiwo and Gauthier Mankenda.

In Dubai, we already played two training games and a match against UAE club “United” (1:3). Today we played against “Emirates”, which is represented by the Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta. The experienced midfielder did not play due to injury.

We completely dominated the first half of the match. In the 15th minute, Kemehlo Nguena scored the first goal – 1:0. The midfielder scored from close range after pass from Antoni Contreras. During the first half, we had several more good chances, but we finally scored the second goal in the 42nd minute. After Contreras’ shot, the opponents were saved by the goalkeeper, but a moment later, Abdulrahman Taiwo scored with a powerful shot – 2:0.

During the second half, as usual in a test matches, head coach Simo Valakari made several substitutions. In the second half, the opponents had the initiative at times, and in the middle of the half “Emirates” also scored one goal (2:1). We had the last word. Gauthier Mankenda made a great play on the left flank, and in the end the DR Congo footballer made a shot into the far top corner. 3:1 victory.

On January 28, we will play against South Korea’s top league club “Jeonbuk Hyundai”.