Derry City vs. Riga: Riga coach ready for 'noisy' return to Brandywell 13 years on from Skonto Riga visit

The 36 year-old former striker recalls the ‘noisy’ reception his teammates received when, now defunct, Skonto Riga emerged from the changing rooms under the decrepit Brandywell offices and jogged through the Showgrounds pitches for their warm-up ahead of the UEFA Europa League second round qualifier in July 2009. It must’ve been an unnerving experience, even for a team from the old Soviet bloc!

It was the return leg of the fixture and Blanks had missed out on the 1-1 draw in the Latvian capital the week previously through injury but he was back in action and leading the attack for the Latvians who were still favourites to progress.

Blanks and his teammates had spent the previous 24 hours taking in the sights of the maiden city but when they arrived at the packed stadium on the Lone Moor Road, they quickly realised they had more than Stephen Kenny’s talented team to contend with.

‘Interesting’ was how he remembers his experience 13 years on as he prepares to return as assistant manager of Riga FC who are intent on reaching the group stages of European competition for the first time in the club’s history after falling short at the final hurdle on two previous occasions.

For a team that plays in front of an average gate of just 500 or 600 supporters at the Skonto Stadium, you can understand why a partisan City support of up to 3,000 people would’ve left a lasting impression.

Of course Riga FC have played much bigger opposition in European football in recent years, no bigger than Celtic in 2020, albeit without the presence of fans due to Covid, when Neil Lennon’s side needed a stoppage time winner from Mohammed Elyounoussi to send the Latvians packing one game before the playoffs for the Europa League group stages.

The club’s defeat to Dundalk in the Champions League qualifier in 2019 will have given them a better understanding of League of Ireland football, the playing style, the supporters and standard and Blanks believes they’ve learned from that first round exit.

As a seeded team in the first round draw, and having come so close to reaching group stages in recent years, falling to Copehenhagen in 2019/20 and Lincoln Red Imps in last season’s competition, Riga will be expected to progress.

Nevertheless, Blanks warned that a packed attendance at the Ryan McBride Brandywell can make ‘a big difference’ to the outcome of the match this Thursday night.

“I remember this game well,” he recalled. “I was in good shape and playing well as a striker but one or two weeks before the Europa Cup game I got injured and didn’t play in Riga. I remember we scored first in the first half but then Derry City scored and the second half was not so good for us.

“We understood it would be a hard game away in Derry,” he continued. “We came one or two days before and trained. I remember going to warm up and the supporters were already all “In these games when you are pretty similar teams the support from the stands makes a big difference. When supporters start screaming you feel more energy.

“I remember it was a good stadium, good atmosphere and good supporters. They were very loud the whole time supporting the team. The atmosphere was very good. I remember it was a grass pitch, a natural pitch but now I understand it’s an artificial pitch. I understand some things have changed in the stadium since but what I remember from 2009 was it was a good city and a good atmosphere”.

The former Latvian international, who is also a familiar face on television back home as a football pundit and commentator, enjoyed a long standing association with perennial Virslīga champions Skonto Riga from 2003 up until 2013 - three years before Latvia’s greatest ever club failed to obtain a licence to play in the top division following bankruptcy which ultimately resulted in liquidation.

It was a remarkable fall from grace for the team that won the first 14 Latvian championships after the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

Blanks’ own playing career came to an end through injury in 2016, aged 30, while playing for FC Caramba and Dinamo Riga - a merger of two Riga based clubs which later was renamed Riga FC.

He spent three matches as interim manager of Riga this season, winning all three, until the club appointed Croatian, Sandro Perkovic as head coach less than a month ago.

Blanks and a small band of Riga’s coaching staff remember with a sense of frustration their last trip to Derry, and the former Skonto Riga forward recalls the disappointment of drawing a blank (forgive the pun) at Brandywell.

He remembers vividly his own gilt-edged chance when the Latvians broke at pace and in numbers before Blanks was denied a shot on goal from close range by a superbly timed challenge inside the penalty area by City skipper Peter Hutton. Derry midfielder Kevin Deery netted the only goal of the game from 25 yards to send Derry through to the third round tie against CSKA Sofia, 2-1 on aggregate.

“I played the whole game and we were a little bit unlucky. I remember I had one good moment and nearly scored but in the second half our goalkeeper made a big mistake. He thought the shot from distance (from Kevin Deery) wasn’t hitting the target and he was very relaxed and then the ball went inside the net and we lost a goal. Unfortunately for us, the European cup was finished. We were favourites for this match but that was on paper and on the field you must prove it.

“My memories from that match were a full stadium, good support and the city was interesting. We went for a walk before the game and saw some places. This is what I remember from 13 years ago.”