National cup

National Stadium
Spectators: 15921 (Terracing: 10000, Seating: 5448, VIP seats: 473) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Gatis Blumbergs made the kick off which started today's match. John Osomo showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Kaspars Ketris in the 7th minute of the match. Aivars Tautvaiss showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Yahamu Udem, who was totally free with the ball in the 10th minute. In the 12th minute Kaspars Ketris shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but John Osomo saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. John Osomo stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Gatis Blumbergs's shot from short distance in the 12th minute. When U21 Latvia's Gatis Blumbergs in the 12th minute got a chance for a shot 12th didn't hesitate and placed the ball to the right of the goalie. A beautiful save bye U21 Nigeria's goalie prevented a goal. An unexpectedly hard shot by Gatis Blumbergs in the 14th minute of play forced U21 Nigeria's goalkeeper John Osomo to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. The audience thought a goal was coming when Okoli Kipkorir got free with Aivars Tautvaiss in the 17th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. Adigun Olatokunbo hit a great freekick 19 minutes into the match. Balvis Kiberkalns blasted a shot towards the goal in the 20th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without John Osomo having to make a save. John Osomo didn't succeed to prevent the ball from going into goal when U21 Latvia's Gatis Blumbergs shot an unexpected shot in the crossbar's under edge and made 0-1 in the ordered_time% minute. 25 minutes into the match, U21 Nigeria's goal looked a bit too open when Balvis Kiberkalns came free, but John Osomo reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Yahamu Udem kicked well hit freekick during the 27th minute of the match. U21 Nigeria's John Osomo played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Alens Biedriņš in the 29th minute of play. John Osomo took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Gatis Blumbergs, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. Kaspars Ketris sent away a hard shot on goal in the 32nd minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Alens Biedriņš charged in rather forcefully in the 38th minute of the match, and managed to knock his opponent down. The referee showed Alens Biedriņš the yellow card, and asked the players to shake hands before continuing play. Aivars Tautvaiss made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Muhammed Abubakar in the 39th minute of play. The referee felt a red card was in order, 41 minutes into the game, when Wise Manwe put in a rough tackle. Wise Manwe kicked well hit freekick during the 41st minute of the match. The audience was convinced that Gatis Blumbergs's extremely hard shot when he got free in front of the goal was going in, but John Osomo was relentless in the 45th minute of the game. Aivars Tautvaiss took care of the ball after a well-directed shot from Muhammed Abubakar, even though the ball almost passed him on his left side. John Osomo showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Alens Biedriņš, who was totally free with the ball in the 48th minute. The crowd was extremely unhappy with the home team's performance in the first half. They were losing 0-1.

When the second half was about to start, both teams quickly lined up and Muhammed Abubakar made a kick off. With a little luck, U21 Nigeria's John Osomo got control of the ball when Kaspars Ketris tried to sneak it across the goal line. With 56 minutes on the clock, Santis Krūzītis commited a dangerous tackle. The referee had no choice but to show him the red card. In a very dangerous position, a player in U21 Latvia fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 56th minute. Penalty! U21 Latvia:s Aivars Tautvaiss showed great skill when he stopped Achebe Aguele:s penalty. After having played for 61 minutes, Gatis Blumbergs managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. U21 Latvia's supporters crossed their fingers, but Gatis Blumbergs was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. U21 Latvia's Nauris Pedersens was substituted for Alnis Skarulis. In the 64th minute Taribo West shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Aivars Tautvaiss saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Aivars Tautvaiss made a wonderful reflex save on a shot from Okoli Kipkorir in the 75th minute of play. The audience thought a goal was coming when Lauris Rebenis got free with John Osomo in the 77th minute, but the goalkeeper managed to catch the ball with a huge effort. After taking down the ball on U21 Latvia's corner Balvis Kiberkalns fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and John Osomo quite easily take care of the ball. After 79 played minutes U21 Nigeria got a freekick which was hit by Muhammed Abubakar. Alens Biedriņš fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 81st minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without John Osomo having to interfere. In the 89th minute, Okoli Kipkorir made a precise shot to the right of Aivars Tautvaiss. U21 Latvia's defense was at fault, and the scoreboard reflected the new score, 1-1. Aivars Tautvaiss came out of the goal in the 98th minute to try and stop a shot by U21 Nigeria's Okoli Kipkorir. But to his dismay, Okoli Kipkorir quickly shot the ball in between his legs and into the goal making it 2-1.