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| GETTIN ! Ventspils win cup for first time. |
| Posted on 23/10/03 at 06:30 by Dead Ball Descendant |
FK Ventspils have won the Latvian Cup for the first time in their history with a 4-0 victory against Skonto FC.
Last chance
Saulius Sirmelis, the Ventspils coach, could not hide his delight. "We are very glad," he said. "For many of our players this was the last chance to win something important and they rose to the occasion. We were able to convert our advantage into goals which proved to be decisive."
Bright start
Sirmelis's side began as they meant to go on, piling pressure on the Skonto defence. Andrei Agafonov opened the scoring on ten minutes, heading beyond Skonto goalkeeper Andrejs Piedels.
Twice denied
Levan Korgalidze had two good opportunities to equalise but was denied on both occasions. First Ventspils goalkeeper Denis Romanovs parried his free-kick on 18 minutes just before an effort from the edge of the penalty area missed the top corner by centimetres.
Rimkus breakthrough
Ventspils defender Maris Smirnovs extended his side's lead in the 22nd minute, nodding in Sergei Zangareev's corner. Vits Rimkus nearly made it three with a powerful shot moments later before finally getting on the scoresheet a minute from half-time with a well-placed shot from the left of Piedels' goal.
Penalty awarded
Skonto were stunned and fell even further behind after the interval. Valentins Lobanevs fouled Rimkus in the penalty area on 55 minutes, allowing Igoris Stukalins to score from the spot. Lobanevs's miserable day was complete four minutes later when he was sent off.
Four enough
Ventspils could have extended their advantage in the closing stages but were more than content with their four goals. Even the added-time dismissal of Tomasￇ Hejdusￇek, for a second yellow card, could not dampen their celebrations at the final whistle.
No focus
Skonto coach Aleksandrs Starkovs was gracious in defeat. He said: "My congratulations to Ventspils and Saulius Sirmelis. We lost the match before the whistle as we were not focused enough."
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