Hancko played a decent game, we go to work tomorrow morning and have to get ready for Sunday, Priske said

Disgrace, failure, the end of one of the season’s goals. The return match between Viking and Sparta could be described in many words, how did coach Brian Priske comment on the failed match and the end in Europe?

When the draw awarded Sparta to Norwegian Viking, it was probably the worst possible option. Nevertheless, it was presented that the Flyers would confirm their role as favourites and advance despite their inexperienced opponents.

Sparta needed to get a good result at home in order to concentrate on their game in the north. However, it failed to do so and the 0:0 draw in the rematch backfired when Viking broke the game in their favour in the second half.

“Like everyone in the booth and the whole club, I’m not happy. However, it is not for me to find such words to evaluate the double match with Viking. I’m certainly not happy, I realise that we should have just managed this game and advanced to the next round,” Priske told the club website.

Sparta led from the 42nd minute, when summer signing Jaroslav Zelený scored with a header, but the opponent managed to equalise before half-time. Spartans were no better in the second half, which culminated in the first minute.

Captain Dávid Hancko played with the ball on the whitewash, then wanted to pass it to goalkeeper Dominik Holc, but he misjudged the situation, the opponent won the ball and offered it to Mai Traoré in front of an empty goal.

“It’s very simple, Dávid Hancko is a great player and a great guy. I will support him, as will his teammates and my colleagues from the implementation team. Dávid played a decent game and played a number of very good games for Sparta. Sometimes you just make a bad decision and in football this kind of thing happens,” continued the Danish coach.

Priske’s charges will not play in the Europa League after two years. This is also a blow for the Czech coefficient, as only three teams remain in the game, at the expense of the Norwegian team, which is a direct competitor in the fight for 15th place.

Sparta must recover quickly, however, as they open the league season on Sunday and face a nasty Slovan Liberec at home. The bench of the North Bohemians is occupied by the Slavic player Luboš Kozel, so nothing easy awaits the distraught Sparta.

“Of course it will be difficult, but the players simply have to accept that they are in Sparta and that there are high expectations. Although they are disappointed, they have to show resilience, they have to go to work tomorrow morning like everyone else and be ready to fight in the next game on Sunday,” Priske added.

Source: AC Sparta Prague