It's a thrilling surprise for FK Jelgava fans. Photo used courtesy of FK Jelgava.

JELGAVA, Latvia — FK Jelgava have stunned the Latvian football community, taking out the Latvian Cup.

Having just returned to the premier league of Latvian football this season, Jelgava have defied pundits, up starting two of the powerhouses of Latvian football before beating the highly fancied Jūrmala in a penalty goal shootout to win the Latvian Cup and also enter qualifying for the UEFA Champions League.

Jelgava had anything but an easy draw having to play last year’s Virslīga (Latvia’s season long championship) champions Liepāja in the quarterfinals. The draw had been made on team’s final positioning in the Virsliga last season.

Defeating Liepāja set up a semfinal with what is duly considered Latvia’s third best team Skonto. Another win here moved them through to the final.

What has made the feat all the more remarkable is that all three wins have come in penalty shootouts with Jelgava struggling to wrap things up in regular time. It is the fourth time in the club’s history and the first time since 1996 that Jelgava have held the trophy aloft.

The win will assure a massive windfall for Jelgava, and also benefit the district as a whole with extra work now being done to finish the Jelgava Olympic Center ahead of schedule so it can host home leg UEFA qualifying games.

Having the games take place in Jelgava instead of Riga will have huge benefits for the club with fans tending to stay away from ‘home’ games which are traditionally held in Riga for any team involved in UEFA fixtures.

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