We were futile on offense today, said a disappointed coach Šilhavý after the draw in Moldova

The Czech national team did not build on their excellent performance against Poland and only took a point from Moldova after a goalless draw. Coach Jaroslav Šilhavy admitted his disappointment and lamented the team’s lacklustre offensive work.

Czechs take only a point from Moldova after excellent performance against Poland

After a great performance against Poland, another win was expected in Group E of the 2024 European Championship qualifiers in Germany. The Czech national team visited Moldova and was the clear favourite for the match.

Unlike our national team, Moldova did not do well in the first round of qualifying matches, when they failed to beat the football midget from the Faroe Islands after a surprising 1-1 draw at home.

But yesterday’s match was a completely different story for the Eastern European national team. The Czechs struggled on the difficult terrain from the first minutes of the match and the players did not show enough commitment in the first half.

Coach Šilhavy lamented especially the sluggish offensive performance of his team

Jaroslav Šilhavý, the coach of the Czech national team, also lamented the lack of quality in the first act. “The passing was slow, the terrain was uneven, there was not enough movement,” Šilhavý said in a post-match interview on ČT Sport.

“In the whole first half we hardly developed anything except for the big chance by Soucek, ” he mentioned a huge chance at the end of the half. Our captain hit the crossbar of the home goal.

After the change of sides the game improved a bit, but the Czech team did not create any significant chances. During the whole match they sent only three shots at the opponent’s goal and after a goalless draw they took one point from Moldova.

“I think we increased the pressure, we were getting into the penalty area, we had the upper hand, but we didn’t create many chances,” Šilhavy said. “Offensively, we were completely futile, we lacked the quality of centres from the sides, we had nothing.”

“There is no one to praise today. The forwards didn’t get the balls they needed, but they didn’t keep them either. We simply didn’t have the quality to create chances today,” he said.

The coach and the players obviously feel a huge disappointment. In terms of the results of the first round, a victory was expected, but the other matches confirmed that it will not be so easy to win every game.

The biggest rival from neighbouring Poland pulled off a poor home win against Albania 1: 0. Every point counts, and the Czechs hold the top spot in the group with four points ahead of the second-placed Poles, who are one point behind.

Source: CT Sport, Livesport