Football

Most vs. Olomouc and Jihlava vs. Příbram in the Superleague semifinals

Published

1 year ago

19. 5. 2023

For the first time in the history of the Superleague of small football there will be no winner from Brno or Prague. The two favourites of the national competition in the current year did not pass through the pitfalls of the quarter-finals. The defending champions from Prague’s Hanspaulka fell out with the Olomouc Mighty Ducks, while the Brno Vikings lost to Most. Jihlava Miners and Partyzan Příbram made it to the semifinals.

Most – Vikings Brno 3::2 (1::1)

Goals and assists:: 17. Laňka, 55. Laňka, 58. Laňka (Gedeon) – 27. Presl (Lidmila), 42. Doubravský (Presl). Referee:: Št’astka – Havel. ŽK:: Exner, Koudelka – Pospiš, Kunický. First match 4::1, Most advances.

Most dominated both quarter-final matches, they advanced by winning 4:1 in Brno. “We appreciate the promotion very much, we are going step by step towards our goal. I think the quarter-final offered nice, dynamic football. It was very clear that the teams have not met each other in the season. I dare to say that we were the better team in both games and the promotion is well deserved. But Brno deserves a lot of respect. In my opinion, we reacted better to the game situations that the match offered. It definitely helped a lot in the away game that we scored a goal right from the first shot. We were more creative, we handled the key duels better,” said Vojtěch Benda, the coach of Most.

In Most, Brno took a 2:1 lead in the 42nd minute after Bohumir Doubravsky scored, but in the last five minutes the home team’s Denis Laňka scored twice and completed his hat-trick. “I felt a slight nervousness from the boys in the home game, but it faded away as time went on. Even though Brno led twice, the boys created a lot of scoring opportunities and I felt it was only a matter of time before they converted one of them. With the game tied, Brno had to open the game up more and we added a goal insurance,” added Benda.

After four titles and last year’s final appearance, this time the Vikings are soon out of the season. “Most was more productive in both games and mercilessly punished our mistakes. We created enough chances in the first game, but Ondra Bíro played a great game. In the rematch, our canon Denis Lanka scored a hat trick. Our only three goals scored in two games were not enough to advance. Congratulations to the opponent,” said Brno coach Zdeněk Táborský.

Most will take on Olomouc Mighty Ducks in the semifinals. “The team is incredibly tight-knit this year, hungry for success and we won’t be broken even if the game doesn’t go in our favour. The guys believe in their team skills and don’t mess up in key moments. So we are very much looking forward to the semi-final battles,” Benda said.

Jihlava Miners – Predátoři Praha 4::1 (2::1)

Goals and assists:: 2. Plichta (Míča), 5. Ošmera (Plichta), 36. Svoboda, 58. Míča (Hrobař) – 6. Carda (Vávra). Judge: Havel – Prudil. ŽK:: Carda (Predators). First match:: 4::1, Jihlava advances.

Jihlava Miners won the home rematch just like the opening match 4::1 and eliminated the Predators from Prague. “We appreciate the promotion very much. We sacrificed a bit last season, where we were looking for a new line-up. But I hope we haven’t said our last word yet,” smiled Jihlava coach Ondřej Lapeš.

According to him, the productivity of the Mountaineers decided the game. “We only got two goals, I think it is a great achievement in small football and speaks about the quality defensive work of the whole team. Another aspect of the progression I see in the fact that we did not lose during the match. This gave us a calmness that allowed us to change our tactics a bit for the rest of the game, which proved to be successful,” Lapeš assessed.

The Predators were already down by two goals after five minutes in Jihlava, then Jan Carda reduced the deficit, but after the break the Miners increased their lead. “It’s very hard to evaluate this second game because it was like a carbon copy of the first one. We say something to each other in the locker room and still after two mistakes and two shots we lose 0:2. And it is very difficult to turn around with Jihlava, who defends well tactically and has strong breakaways from which to threaten,” said Prague coach Tomáš Jurčík.

The Predators know what they need to improve for next season. “Even though I think we were not worse in any of the games, I thought Jihlava wanted it a bit more and especially managed to convert their chances. This has been a problem for us for several matches. We have to make some changes, we have to work on what didn’t work and take advantage of what did work,” Jurčík said.

Olomouc Mighty Ducks – Hanspaulka Praha 5::1, overtime 1::0

Goals and assists:: 8. Novotný (Buček), 11. Šuba, 21. Látal (Galus), 34. Novotný (Kryl), 46. Janotka (Buček), 60+19. Janotka (Kaďorek) – 27. Rossmann (Plánička). Judge:: Sýkora – Tomai. Penalty:: Socher (Hanspaulka). First match:: 0::2, Olomouc advances.

Hanspaulka Praha went into the return match in Olomouc with an opening win 2::0 in the back, but in Hana they were losing from the beginning and lost 1::5. The subsequent extra time went better for the Mighty Ducks, their triumph was decided by a single goal from Tomáš Janotka in the 79th minute.

“Advancing to the semi-finals is very valuable for us. Especially for the home game we prepared very well and everything went according to plan. Fourteen players from our side could intervene in the match. In the end, we were the luckier team in the last minute of extra time and after the final whistle, the joy and euphoria of the promotion could break out,” Olomouc coach Tomáš Zeman was pleased.

The Prague team will not defend last year’s title. “We knew that Olomouc was not getting into the block much, so we didn’t want their players to go on breaks, but we let them in a couple of times and they punished everything. In the sum of the games we were definitely not a worse team, but we did not deserve to play for medals for the whole season,” admitted Hanspaulka coach Václav Socher.

However, the Prague team is represented in the Superfinals in other categories, which show promise for the future. “ Right after the match I reassigned six boys from the successful U23 category to the A-team and we will rejuvenate again, even if it will take some time to get back to the top,” Socher added.

Olomouc are facing Most in their way to the finals. “In the context of history, this is already a success for our club. We have no choice but to fight in the next three matches for the best possible position. Everything is open and after the elimination of Hanspaulka Praha and Vikings Brno it is now clear that this year the Superliga of small football will know a new winner. It is only the third in its history,” Zeman reminded.

Partyzan Příbram – MF Baník Ostrava 7::2 (1::2), overtime 3::0

Goals and assists:: 10. J. Junek (Sirotek), 31. Sirotek (Dvořák), 40. Melichar (Dvořák), 42. Beran (Drašnar), 45. Hájek (Drašnar), 50. P. Junek (Drašnar), 58. Dvořák (Hájek), 60.+5. Beran (Hájek), 60.+17. Malý (Junek), 60.+20. Melichar – 4. Hudeček (Kálay), 6. Klíma. Referee: P. Kubečka – Soukup. Penalty:: Sirotek – Hudeček. First match:: 3::4, Příbram advances.

Partyzan Příbram also erased the deficit from the first quarterfinal match. They lost 3::4 in Ostrava, but dominated the home rematch and won 7::2. The subsequent overtime was dominated 3: 0. “I think it was a very good double match from both teams. I have to praise the boys because we went for the win and the promotion, even though the first match was not very good,” commented the coach of Příbram Erik Šlechta.

His charges will face Jihlava Miners in the semifinals. “We are very happy to advance. Příbram has never been in the semifinals and we appreciate the fact that we made it,” Šlechta gushed.

Baník entered the rematch ideally, leading 2:0 in the sixth minute. “We started very well with two quick goals. The boys carried out what we said to the letter. Unfortunately, the opponent managed to equalise early and add more goals. Our players kept playing hard and we wanted to equalize in regulation time. We didn’t want an extra time, but Příbram defended very well. We started the extra time very well, we had two great chances but didn’t convert them. The opponent scored the first goal in extra time, but it was still even. In the end, we took a risk and scored more goals,” summed up Ostrava coach Tomáš Sysala.

The season is over for Baník. “We didn’t go to Pribram with full numbers, which is common for away games, but it will show in the result. The inexperience of the young players also showed, there was a lack of calmness in finishing and composure. Although the opponents won their group, the quarter-final was evenly matched. Both matches had a great atmosphere and momentum. It’s obvious that Příbram is a well-coordinated team. Even though we didn’t advance, I have to praise our players for their great fight and desire to win,” said Sysala.