© EuroFootball.com
The battles of the Baltic Football League, which started a week ago, continue with the first matches between Latvian and Estonian teams on Tuesday and Wednesday. EuroFootball.com presents brief reviews of the Tuesday matches.
BFL Group B matches
Tallinn "TVMK" - "Ventspils"
Having lost the first match in Vilnius to Panevezys "Ekranas" with a score of 2-1, but failing to utilize a hundred percent chance to score in the last minute, "TVMK" will face the Latvian champions "Ventspils".
It is believed that "Ventspils" will not have the strongest lineup in the matches, although the club's head coach Roman Grigorčiuka promised that the team will fight for victory in every match.
Before the upcoming match, the Latvian club was supplemented by two newcomers, who may appear in the Tuesday matches, although their names have not been disclosed by the club yet. On the field, injured Sergey Zangerejevas and Igor Pokarininas will definitely not appear, and it is still unclear about Andrejus Butrikas.
The best news in the "Ventspils" camp is that the best player of last season's Latvian league, Ndeki, who was sought after by several high-caliber clubs, signed a new contract with Ventspils club and will stay there at least until summer.
Meanwhile, "TVMK" started their battles in the Estonian championship on Saturday, and in their first match, they defeated "Kuressaare" footballers with a score of 0-2. Both goals were scored by 22-year-old forward Oliver Konsa, who missed a famous chance in the match against "Ekranas".
In the composition of "TVMK", we will definitely not see Lithuanian defender Tomas Rimas - he, along with two other defenders Vadimas Seero and Eduardas Sarajevas, will not play for at least a month. For this reason, "TVMK" played with only three defenders on the field on Saturday.
BFL Group C matches
Liepaja "Metalurgs" - Tallinn "Levadia"
Under the leadership of Benjamin Zelkevičius, the Latvian club has signed contracts with as many as eight legionnaires during the off-season, and five more are participating in the trial. Among the ranks of "Metalurgs," apart from the Lithuanian coach, there are also five compatriots - defenders Mindaugas Kalonas, Darius Miceika, Vadimas Petrenko, Tomas Tamošauskas, and forward Nerijus Astrauskas.
The management of Liepaja club has set high goals in all tournaments, so BFL will not be an exception.
In the match against Estonian champions Tallinn "Levadia", who played a 1-1 draw with Vilnius "Žalgiris" at home last week, one of the main players of the team, Genadijus Soloničinas, will definitely miss the match as he recently underwent surgery and will not play until April.
Since B. Zelkevičius has emphasized wanting competition for every position on the field, it is still unclear what the starting lineup could be for the Tuesday match.
Meanwhile, "Levadia" head coach Tarmo Ruutli took only 15 players to Liepaja, including just four defenders. However, this fact likely reflects the Estonian club's view of BFL, as the head coach has repeatedly emphasized that the team's priority is the Estonian league.
In the "Levadia" lineup, we likely won't see last season's captain Konstantin Vassiljev and talented Russian U-19 forward Nikita Andrejev - both played in Saturday's "Meistriliiga" match but have not yet gained the required form. It is very likely that we will see Lithuanian defender Vitoldas Čepauskas in the starting lineup of the Tallinn team.
On Saturday, "Levadia" crushed the underdogs of Lansamajes "Ajax" 5-0 in the second Estonian championship match. Remember that in the first match last week, they defeated bronze medalists Tartu "Maag Tammeka" 4-0.
