“Talsu NSS/Krauzers” is in the Superfinal – ReTalsi

“Talsu NSS/Krauzers” has become the second finalist of the ELVI floorball league for men, who will compete with “FS Masters/Ulbroka” for the championship title. Although it seemed that the last game before the final in “Arena Rīga” could be already last Saturday in Talsi, the loss took the Talsi team to Cēsis the next day. But there, the players from Talsi proved to the Česi that they deserve a place in the Superfinal.

It was clear a couple of weeks ago that the players from Tallinn have already fulfilled their goal of playing in “Arena Riga”, but it remained to be determined whether the fight would be for first-second or third-fourth place. And it initially looked like Saturday night’s home game could be the last before the Super Final at the Arena. However, it didn’t work out so easily. If in the first period the goalkeepers of both teams were unbeatable and did not miss a single shot, then the second period already ended with the advantage of the Česi and the game also ended with 3:2 in favor of “Lekring”. “We couldn’t break the opponent’s goal for a long time, and this created additional nervousness, which in the end also resulted – we had to run, catch somewhere, and we could no longer play our patient game,” explains the playing coach, team captain Toms Akmenlauks. “No one said it would be easy. The opponent is respectable, and the work is not done. I don’t know, maybe we didn’t believe that we could play. There are some moments where we hit those balls, some mistakes, we poke somewhere, but hats off to the guys. To enjoy such a game, in front of the audience, is enough cool,” its playing coach Artis Raitums.

Towards the very end of the game, Talsu floorball players Jānis Ragovskis and Maris Škūburas managed to score a goal each. In addition, it happened in such a short time that it seemed that the third goal, so much needed, was about to happen, but there were only five seconds left before the end of the game. “Everyone should have just woken up sooner. There were moments, but we didn’t create them much, we made a lot of technical mistakes, and that played a big role for them more. They played with the ball more, we played less, and that’s how the result remained,” says goalkeeper Sandijs Gabriels Siliņš.

However, nothing was lost yet – the series had to continue until four successes of one team, and at that time “Lekrings” lost 2:3. and the next battle ahead the very next day. Talsinians admitted that they should relax, recover psychologically and simply leave the negative for today. “We are a physically well-prepared team. It is not a big problem for us to play two days in a row – looking at how we are doing in the series, the second games are more stable for us and we have won them. Because, yes, the physicality allows us to play it,” explains the goalkeeper.

And that’s exactly what happened – the next day, the team from Talsi won the series 4:2 and entered the Grand Final, which will take place on April 13. “This is our year, but the strongest will win. We’ll see how it goes, but I think we can do it, and we all know we can. You just have to give everything you have,” says Sandijs Gabriels Siliņš.

Meanwhile, the game in Talsi highlighted the problem – the hall of the Talsi State Gymnasium was overcrowded with spectators. “If the game is at five o’clock, then at four o’clock it’s already full and people are looking for a place to sit, and that’s a big problem. But it is a nice problem that we are appreciated, the people of Tulsi come and support us. Not only in home games, but also in away games. It’s a pleasure to try,” shares Artis Raitums.

The space problem could be solved by more capacious grandstands, but this requires funding, and the unstable financial situation in Talsi region has slowed down the plan at the moment.

Photo by Oskars Sidra.