RFS and Riga face off for a place in Latvia Cup final
RFS and Riga meet today at LNK sporta parks in the Latvian Cup semifinal to determine who will face Auda, which advanced yesterday, in October's final.
Tonight at 19:00, RFS host Riga at LNK sporta parks in a Riga derby that will decide the second finalist of this season's Latvian Football Cup. The winner will meet Auda in late October, after Auda beat Daugavpils in a penalty shootout yesterday. For the fifth consecutive year, only three clubs — RFS, Riga and Auda — have reached the cup final, and today's result will determine this year's matchup.
Head-to-head record
This season in the Virsliga, RFS and Riga have met three times: two matches at LNK sporta parks both ended in high-scoring 3:3 draws, while Riga won 2:1 at Skonto Stadium. Overall, the two clubs have met 16 times across all competitions, with RFS holding twice as many wins as Riga.
Road to the semifinal
RFS reached this stage with two low-scoring wins — beating Jelgava 2:0 in the round of 16, with goals from Darko Lemajic and Roberts Savalnieks, and edging Super Nova 1:0 in the quarterfinal, with the only goal scored by Duje Korac.
Riga faced lower-tier First League opposition and scored more freely, beating Leevon PPK 3:2 in the round of 16 and Metta 4:1 in the quarterfinal. Metta is coached by Andris Riherts, Riga's former manager; Riga only pulled ahead after 50 minutes in that match, with Raky Avane scoring twice.
Cup history
Since Latvia regained independence, Skonto has won the cup most often, with eight titles. Among currently active clubs, RFS has won it three times, while Riga and Auda have two titles each. Last year, Auda beat Riga 2:1 in the final. Today's match will be broadcast live on Sportacentrs.com and TV4.
