Floorball

The national teams of Latvia and the Netherlands had met each other only once so far, when the Latvians defeated their rivals with the result 11:2 in a similar World Championship qualifying tournament match four years ago. At that time, the top scorer in the Latvian national team was Paula Metāla, who scored three goals and made one assist. This time she is not part of the Latvian national team, but our national team was still a strong favorite in the game.

The Latvians began to confirm their status already with the first attack, when Zane Darša made an accurate shot, revealing the result of the fight. It took more than nine minutes for the next goal to be scored, when Simona Gräpena sent the ball into an almost empty goal after a quick play. A little slack and a mistake near her own goal where the ball was lost led to a goal loss when Kristine Kirilova also failed to deal with Anuka Joner’s shot. The loss of goals angered our girls, who managed to score four more goals before the break. First, Anna Ankudinova scored with a sharp shot from the edge of the field 3:1 for our national team, a minute later her teammate in the Swiss club “Floorball Zurich Lionesses” Kate Melder also scored the fourth goal. Later, the Latvians earned the right to play in the majority, which they used a minute later, when Laura Gaugere threw the ball to Simona Gräpän. On the other hand, at the end of the period, Jeina Eglīte intercepted the ball on her side of the field, passing it to Aurelija Zariņa. With a quick pass, she led our captain Julia Rozita alone against the rival’s goalkeeper and the result became 6:1.

In the second third, our national team was not so productive, and in the middle of it, Samanta Bērziņa left the team in a numerical minority. It didn’t last long, because Ankudinova provoked the rejection of her opponents. Playing in equal but incomplete formations, Melder received a pass in front of the goal, scoring the seventh goal. Soon after, Ankudinova did not use a pass against the goalkeeper, but Zane Darša scored the eighth goal in the 36th minute, while Emilija Salaciete changed the score again after 19 seconds – 9:1 for the Latvian national team.

The third period started with a quick goal by Rozite, who got the ball on her side of the field, made a raid on the right side and decided to shoot herself, which the opposing goalkeeper could not handle. In the continuation, the teams exchanged rejections, but Emilija Salacietes’ goal in the 54th minute after a diagonal pass by Melderes made it 11:1. In the continuation of the match, the Latvians could also train in a minority of three against five rivals, without conceding a goal. As a result, it was possible to win a more convincing victory over the Netherlands than in the first meeting.

In the Latvian national team, Jūlija Rozīte was the top scorer with 4 (2+2) points, but Kati Melderi was recognized as the best, with two goals and one assist. It should be noted that nine out of 11 goals in the Latvian national team were scored by floorball players who are playing abroad this season.

Thus, the Latvian national team has taken the first step towards one of the first three places in the subgroup and getting a ticket to the final tournament in Singapore. Already tomorrow at 20:00 for the Latvian national team, perhaps the most important game in this qualification tournament, in which they have to meet the always principled Germany. Live broadcast of the game on TV4 channel and on the Sportacentrs.com portal

Women’s World Floorball Championship Qualifying Tournament

Latvia – Netherlands 11:1 (6:1, 3:0, 2:0)
The most successful in the Latvian national team: Júlia Rozīte 4 (2+2), Zane Darša 3 (2+1), Simona Grāpēnas 3 (2+1), Kate Melder 3 (2+1), Emilija Salaciete 2 (2+0), Anna Ankudinova 2 (1 +1), Laura Gaugere 2 (0+2), Aurelija Zariņa 2 (0+2), Samanta Bērziņa 1 (0+1)

Tournament table

Last weekend, the transfer window closed and this time the most interesting transfers took place not among the clubs of the Elvi League, but among the teams of the 1st League and, more specifically, the 2nd League of the Latvian Championship. The “Impar Limbaži” team, which was outside the play-off zone of the league a week ago, but now the goals are very clear – to enter the 1st league of the Latvian championship, are especially bright reinforcements for this level. The ranks of the team have been strengthened by one of the most successful floorball players of the league, Kaspars Škeels, who was a player of the Ulbroka club for most of his career. Also, after a not particularly successful period in the lower leagues of Finland, the productive Adrians Mihailov has returned home. On the other hand, from the 1st league club “FK Ozolnieki” they managed to get their attack leader Eddie Hammer.

The first test has been passed by the Limbážni team, defeating “Kalsnava” with a score of 14:3. Half of the team’s goals were scored by Škiels, who also had an assist. Hammer scored three goals and five assists, while Mihailov had a goal and two assists. Against this background, the performance of Jānis Preimaņas, the league’s top scorer, pales in comparison with one goal and one assist.

“It was not planned to return to such an environment, but “Impar Limbaži” made a good offer, so I also decided to help the team fulfill the task of entering the first league,” Škiels admitted in a short conversation with Sportacentrs.com after the won match.

The goals of “Impar Limbaži” are clear, but it will not be easy to achieve them, as the leading teams of the eastern region continue to play admirably. Thus, already the 12th victory in the same games was won by “Rēzekne BJSS”, which defeated “SK Coyote” by 11:3, forcing the competitors to fall out of the play-off zone. The Rēzekne team was able to win a comfortable victory despite the fact that they played the match in less than two fifths. Vladlen Tsvetkov was the top scorer for the winners, with two goals and two assists. In the home team, meanwhile, Guido Bischer scored a goal and made two assists. After this game, Bisher managed to become the 36th player in the history of the tournament, who collected at least 100 assists.

“Aizkraukle/Koknese” still feel secure in the second position of the tournament table behind Rezekne’s “Smiltene’09”, who led 11-0 at the beginning of the third period in the away match against the league bottoms “Smiltene’09”, but won the whole match with 17-5. Juris Tomaševskis and Niklāvs Vingris scored three goals and the same number of assists.

More surprising results were recorded in the West region, where the convincing leaders FK “Vārme” lost to FK “JeNo” in extra time with the result 10:11. The home team started the match strong, quickly taking a 3-0 lead. Although in the continuation the guests came close from time to time, Jelgavniki seemed to control the course of the game safely. However, at the very end of regular time, “Vārme” managed to overcome a two-goal deficit and the winner had to be determined in extra time. “JeNo” was able to play in the majority, because the visitors earned a rejection at the end of the regular time, but Guntars Krukovskis scored the winning goal in the extra time. Stepan Ravlushkevich was the most productive with three goals and one assist. For the losers, Emil Schweikars was the best with three goals and two assists, but he also earned the fatal sending off.

FK NND managed to get their first victory of the season, which unexpectedly beat “FK Tērvete” 9:6, which is one of the leading teams in the league. Aivis Barkovskis stood out for the winners with four goals, but Kristpa Pesik’s three goal match did not help the losers.

Finally, FK “Jūrmala” achieved a 5-0 lead already in the first period, and later achieved a 9-1 lead, but beat the “Saldus Florbols” team 11-5 in the entire game. Kristas Patmalnieks scored four goals for the winners, while Eduards Ezers (3+1) and German Titovs (1+3) also scored four points.

Six games are scheduled in the championship this weekend. Limbažnieci will be able to continue playing, as the team is scheduled to visit the Smiltene team. In the eastern region, “Rēzekne BJSS” will go to Kalsnava after the planned three points, but the central game of the region could be played in Līgatne, where “Aizkraukle/Koknese” will visit the local team.

In the meantime, “FK Tērvete” will try to rehabilitate in the Western region, which will compete with “Saldus Florbols” on the road. The two authors of surprise, FK NND and FK “JeNo” will try to prove to each other that the result of the last game was not a coincidence. Finally, FK “Vārme” will host the floorball players of FK “Jūrmala”, who have taken good form.

Latvian championship men’s 2nd league, results

Latvian championship men’s 2nd league, calendar

Tournament table, East

Tournament table, West

TOP-10 of the most productive players