Latvia round-up: Title challengers march on
Sunday, July 21, 2002
Article summary
FK Ventspils and FC Skonto showed no signs of slipping up in the Latvian title race.
Article body
FK Ventspils and FC Skonto both recorded convincing weekend victories as they continue to set the pace in Latvia.
Advantage restored
Skonto, the reigning champions, closed the gap on their championship rivals to two points with a 3-0 triumph at FK Auda Riga on Saturday, but Ventspils restored their five-point advantage, albeit having played a game more, by trouncing Policijas FK 5-0 today.
Butrik hat-trick
Mikhail Miholap opened the scoring for Skonto at Auda before Aleksandr Eliseev struck twice to seal victory for the team from the capital. Ventspils largely had Andrej Butrik to thank for maximum points as he hit a hat-trick at the Pilsetas stadium. Vladimir Zhavoronkov and Igor Stasjuk were also on target.
Brushed aside
There were also weekend victories for FHK Liepajas Metalurgs and FC Dinaburg. Metalurgs brushed aside SK Valmiera 3-0 in Liepaja, while Pavel Koljtsov hit both of Dinaburg's goals in their 2-1 success at FK Riga, for whom Maris Leschinskij scored in added time.
