(06/01/2002)
The Men’s National League Division One side get the Riga Club’s 2002 account off the mark with a trip to Salford on Saturday. The team will be looking to start the year with a win, having ended 2001 with three League defeats in succession.
Whilst a Cup triumph over last season’s winners Wessex managed to put a smile back on Riga faces pre-Christmas, the bad taste of defeats against Portsmouth, Aquila and Malory still lingers. The target remains to build on last season’s best-ever finish of fourth but hopes have been dented by the losses. However with League games against the likes of Salford, Stoke and Leeds before the end of January, that ambition can easily be reasserted.
Victory over Salford would be the team’s first double of the season and with a full strength squad available, the match should present Riga with few problems. Having said that, Salford are doing better than last term and that stems principally from their home form. So with the Riga psyche fragile and an in-form Richard Dvorsky, Salford will be out for revenge for their three-one defeat earlier in the season.
"The defeats before Christmas took the shine off our season," says skipper Tom Young. "The victory over Wessex restored some pride but we need to get back to winning on a weekly basis. At full strength, Salford are only a problem if we get too cocky and don’t put the effort in – and I’m not about to let that happen."
Having got their League programme off the ground, Sunday sees the side actively pursing its Cup ambitions. The quarter-final tie against London Docklands is also the prelude to a match in February which could well determine who finishes third in the table come the end of the season. Riga’s pre-Christmas run of defeats allowed Docklands to sneak into third place and therefore the match takes on an added frisson. The game at the St. Augustine’s Leisure Centre in Coventry (1.00pm) also marks the club’s return to one of its previous home venues.
"It should be a good match," comments Young. "Docklands are going well and although we beat them in four sets at St. Nicholas Park, they’ll be gunning for us. I have a feeling about us and the Cup this year – and if I’m right, Sheffield will see us again come April."
Also in action on Sunday will be the girls of the National League Division Three side. They travel to Oxford to play the Students and Norwich. Whilst Norwich are at the bottom of the table and should therefore present Riga with an ideal opportunity to get 2002 off to a winning start, the Students lie second to TH Lynx. Hence, coach Sarah Halling’s call for more consistency in the second half of the season will be given an early test. Victory is a distinct possibility but so is defeat and therein lies the side’s challenge for the year.