The Prague S reserves fought for salvation. Dukla and Viktoria Žižkov for promotion to higher competitions

The top Czech football league already knows its winner, but the Fortuna National League has also come to an end. In it, the B’s of the Prague S also showed off, but compared to their busier siblings, they were far from fighting for gold.

Both Sparta and Slavie were on the verge of relegation for a long time. While the Letna team finally successfully resisted the call of the CFL, the Slavic reserve team was relegated from the penultimate place to the lower competition. Could the Susians have done better and stayed in the second highest competition?

Definitely yes, after all, as we have already mentioned Sparta had big problems. However, they successfully got out of them in the end, perhaps thanks to a more stable and better quality squad. In both cases, it was also the case that the players playing mostly in the youth team came to the rescue. However, even this did not help the relegated team.

It was a fight until the last game. In it, the Slavia reserve took on Prostejov, which was also near the relegation zone. Petr Ševčík, Jan Bořil, Petr Hronek and David Pech also played. Despite this, another loss came and with it the final fifteenth place.

Why didn’t the club bring in bigger calibers, like the best scorer of the 1st league, Vaclav Jurecka? The truth is that the club would probably not be able to match its competitors in terms of quality next season. The management still has to put in a lot of effort and maybe go in a slightly different direction. For example, some are calling for the dismissal of head coach Marek Jarolim.

However, the cooperation between Slavia and Vlašim is still ongoing, as the latter, although they have held on in the F::NL, is also in a not very flattering 11th place. It remains to be seen how much the cooperation will be deepened and whether some other talented players will come to the Central Bohemian club on loan. The Sešiovans’ B team is now getting a bit of a backseat.

The famous Dukla in particular was fighting for the highest ranks among Prague clubs. The goals were the highest, which was confirmed by the arrival of legendary coach Petr Rada. Even his personality, however, could not propel the team from Juliska into the fight for the highest competition. In the end, they finished in the potato position, which could be a sign that next year this goal will be even closer.

The Fortuna League would definitely suit Dukla, although it would require a bit more attendance. The huge stand at Juliska often gives a rather crowded impression. Dukla Prague is still one of the most successful clubs in the history of the First League. It has 11 titles to its credit, the last one in 1981/1982. Ladislav Vízek, Stanislav Pelc or the current coach Petr Rada were still playing for them then.

In the upcoming season, however, another Prague club, which has fallen a bit lower than Dukla, could fight in the second football league. Viktoria Žižkov dominated the third league group B and finished in first place with a 14-point lead. They will fight for promotion to the second league in June against the winner of group A Jiskra Domažlice. Both teams are still waiting for the championship matches, but their first place in the respective competitions is already decided.

In the following years, other teams could also look into the higher competitions. In the A group of the ČFL, the top positions were occupied by Bohemians reserve, Loko Vltavín and Admira Praha. Let’s see how it will look like with Prague representatives in our main professional competitions.

Source:: Fortuna liga, Fortuna national league, ČFL