Latvia falls to Cyprus on last-second goal in Nations League

Latvia's men's national football team suffered a painful away defeat on Monday, losing 1:2 to Cyprus in a UEFA Nations League League C fixture in Nicosia. The hardest part to accept was that the hosts scored their decisive goal in the very last seconds of the match.

How the match unfolded

Cyprus dominated the first half and found the net in the 26th minute, but the goal was disallowed for offside. The teams went into the break with the score still level at 0:0.

After the restart, Latvia grew more assertive and took the lead in the 57th minute. Eduards Daškevičs skilfully beat his marker on a counterattack, drove into the penalty area and fired the ball past the goalkeeper to make it 1:0.

That lead did not last. In the 70th minute, a mix-up between defender Deniss Meļņiks and goalkeeper Rihards Matrevics allowed Ioannis Kousoulos to level the score at 1:1.

Late drama

It looked as though the match would end in a draw, but deep into stoppage time Markos Edvards struck from the edge of the penalty box, snatching a 2:1 win for Cyprus in the dying seconds.

The defeat is Latvia's third in four Nations League matches so far. With just one point collected, the national team currently sits bottom of Group C2.

Latvia's next fixtures come in mid-November — first away against Montenegro, then at home against Armenia.