LIPEĀJA TOO MUCH FOR BATTLING UNITED
26 / 09 / 2016
FK Liepāja 
A battling effort from the United Ladies saw them lose in the second half.
Date published: 26/09/2016 - 22:24
Riga United FC Ladies 0-4 FK Liepāja
I have tried to avoid using it my whole time
writing match reports but Saturday’s game between Riga United and
FK Liepāja summed up the old adage “football is a game of two
halves”.
In a match where in the first United went ‘toe-to-toe’ with Liepāja
and arguably played the better football, finished 0-0. However, the
game finished 4-0 to Liepāja, with Riga on the end of another
battling loss.
The first half was a very gutsy performance. They came out
determined and looking to put the pressure on Liepāja. It
worked well, Liepāja didn’t look they had many ideas as the
full-backs pressured the wingers well and the defence did a good
job of clearing the lines.
Any shots or crosses which were coming in were dealt with easily
enough by goalie Evelīna Romanova or the CB pairing of Pia Foosnaes
and Gina Grosland. Transitioning forward was a little harder for
United, as they looked to create a few chances and try and get
behind the back line. As the half wore on, Liene Vāciete was
linking well with Marit Gjerde alongside the wingers and though
there were few clear cut chances for United, Linda Kazlauska going
very close with a shot which just went wide, there were chances for
Riga.
In the second half, United looked equally determined and set to
continue, however, after the shouting the Liepāja players had
received at half time, they were equally ready. The Black
Cats started the half too slowly, which was also the problem
previously in the Rēzekne game.
Suddenly Riga’s passing game wasn’t coming together and they were
starting to sit off Liepāja a bit. One or two harsh calls for
free kicks started to put pressure on the home team and it paid off
for Liepāja in the 53rd minute.
It was not more than five minutes later that Liepāja scored their
second from a fast counter, which should have potentially been
given for offside.
United did find some impetus and started getting forward but again
failing to take their chances, so when Liepāja’s third goal came in
the 63rd minute, after United failed to deal with a corner, it took
the momentum from United’s feet. Though, there was no lack of
fight, the Ladies gave everything they could in the second
half.
Late on in the half, they had some chances and even struck the post
but it was not to be Riga’s day as in the last minute Liepāja
‘rubbed salt in the wound’ and scored a fourth.
The loss was difficult for Riga but they will regroup for next year
and still feel they can beat Liepāja. The loss was softened
by the knowledge later on in the day that Rēzekne had also lost and
by a bigger amount, so it’s Riga United who will take 3rd place.
Lucky Liepāja?
It’s the third time Liepāja have scored a four goal margin against
Riga United this season. Despite challenging Liepāja, they
have always managed to find that lucky break to open the scoring
and this game was no different.
All four goals came in the second half for Liepāja and they may
have got away with a couple of things that were missed.
Leading up into the first goal in the 53rd minute, J.
Tarasova should have been penalised for a handball but instead a
couple of seconds later there was a deemed foul on her and the
resulting free kick flew into the top of the net.
The second goal came four minutes later United failed to deal with
J. Tarasova again, however, there was quite a clear offside from
her as Liepāja went forward, which United could feel aggrieved
by.
The third goal, in the 63rd minute was through United not dealing
with a corner effectively enough and the fourth goal came on the
stroke of the full time whistle, almost, by this point though
United were tired and Liepāja took advantage.
Justin had his thoughts on the Liepāja goals: “Tony
[McMullen] and I saw a handball by [Jeļena] Tarasova just before
their free kick when they scored the opening goal. It is one of
those key decisions or moments that can turn a game. I also thought
their second goal was offside in the transition. Their third is a
sucker punch and the fourth makes the scoreline very flattering to
Liepāja with it coming in the final minute. But, at the end of the
day, Liepāja stepped up a gear in the second half and took almost
all their goal scoring chances.”
Looking to next year:
It’s been a positive step this year for the United Ladies’. They
shall receive their bronze medals and quite rightly so. The team
has two joint scorers rather than one outstanding scorer, plus a
lot of the goals came from well-worked passing moves.
As the Liepāja game showed though, United need to look at taking
their chances going forward. The coaches could potentially
look back to three games this season where if the clear chances had
been taken, they would have been three vital away victories.
They have some excellent, strong versatile players in the team,
however, the turnover of players to last year has been quite big
and the players available too few quite a few times. And here
is a point which will need to be looked at for next year. Compared
to other teams, this has commented on by other players from other
teams, every time one of the other teams plays Riga United, it is
often a different team from the previous game.
If Riga United could find a consistent selection, the team will gel
a lot better and the results will no doubt improve. The
quality is in the team and some of the skill of the players is
above a few players in the league but they have to find that
consistency amongst the squad.
Pia Foosnaes, Marit Gjerde and Liene Vāciete all won awards for
their performances, this year at the annual Riga United awards.
Without arguments, they have been the vital spine of United and
have given the team a great core to work with and off of for next
season. If the three play consistently then you are looking at a
much tougher team next year. It’s obviously not about individuals
but with the potential for this partnership in place, the team will
look to improve on their position next year.
Plus with the upcoming youth players, who have made names for
themselves this year, such as Marte Gronvold and Linda Kazlauska.
There is a lot of promise for Riga United Ladies in 2017.
What the manager said:
After the game, Justin Walley reflected on the final game of the
season: “I so much wanted us to end the season and my time
with the girls on a high. That first half performance was
definitely one of the best by a Riga United Ladies side. They did
exactly what I asked them to do. The team shape was absolutely spot
on and it made it difficult for Liepaja to play to their strengths.
I thought Linda [Kazlauska] had put one in the top corner but it
just swerved wide. Aleksej was going mad at their girls at half
time. I just asked for more of the same. I really believed at that
point that it was going to be our day. Sadly, our minds seemed to
stay in the dressing room. Maybe we started the second half feeling
too relaxed. We gave away some possession from being sloppy and the
two quick goals seemed to instantly galvanise them. Our self belief
died after that as did the legs of three or four of the
girls.”
“To be fair though, we kept going and hit the post. We also
squandered three decent chances to get back in the game. They have
done that time and time again against us.”
“As a club, we are still some way behind Liepaja but with last
season's 2-2 and the first half here, we have shown that when we
play at our very best, we can more than match the second best team
in Latvia. We have finished this season as the third best team in
Latvia.. Already you can see the big development in young players
like Marte [Gronvold] and Linda [Kazlauska]. I wish the future
coaches and, of course, the ladies the very best of luck and hope
they all continue to enjoy their football and being a part of our
lovely football club.”