Lievevons/PPC secure dominant victory over Smiltene
Lievevons/PPC saw off Smiltene 4-2 in the 17th round of the 1. Liga on Sunday. The hosts built their lead through a flurry of goals in the opening half and held on comfortably thanks to second-half goals from S. Aogaki.
And here's the thing about the start — you could sense the tension straight away. Saito opened the scoring for Lievevons/PPC after just two minutes, but Rams levelled within four. To be fair, neither side looked particularly set, just reacting to each other.
By then the pattern was clear enough. Hills restored the lead in the 26th minute, and Muiznieks responded immediately in the 27th. Aogaki then finished the half with a goal in the 32nd minute, and that was effectively the match settled.
The home side added a second from Aogaki in the 78th minute to make it 4-2, but Smiltene had found no answer to the pressure by that stage. Lievevons/PPC pressed high up the pitch and Smiltene simply couldn't clear their lines.
The result extends Lievevons/PPC's strong run. They'd won four of their previous five games — a 1-0 victory over Marupe, followed by three straight 2-1 wins — before this comfortable afternoon. Smiltene, meanwhile, saw their recent form continue to struggle despite a 2-1 win over Ventspils.
Lievevons/PPC remain in third place with 42 points from 18 games. Smiltene sit 13th on 10 points, still searching for consistency after just two wins all season.
