Record Breakers: Slavia Prague now unbeaten in thirty-four games unbeaten
After beating Sparta Prague last week in the ‘S’ derby, Slavia matched their eternal rival’s Czech record of going thirty-three games unbeaten. This weekend, they had the chance to make that record their own when they travelled to Zlín in a battle of Europa League sides.
Slavia Prague’s 1-1 draw with Zlín saw the
defending champions enter the history books. The result meant that the Červenobílí
have now gone thirty-four league games unbeaten, a run that goes back thirteen
months and spans two seasons. Despite the cause for celebration, Jaroslav Šilhavý’s
side left southeast Moravia wondering what might have been.
When asked if he viewed the draw as a loss, Jakub Jugas’ responded unequivocally: “Definitely,” he replied.
It was an even game and a draw was a fair resul, though after taking a the lead through a powerful near-post header from Milan Škoda, Slavia would have been expected to see things out. However, when Jugas hauled down Dame Diop in the penalty area late on, he presented his former club with a chance to level the tie.
“It was a clear penalty,” the centre-back said, and he could only watch as Vukadin Vukadinović calmly converted from twelve-yards.
With that point, Slavia slipped to second and were overtaken in the table by Sigma Olomouc, who beat Dukla Prague 3-0. Jakub Plšek’s thirty-minute brace set Hanáci on their way to a comfortable win, with Martin Sladky’s second-half piledriver being the icing on the cake.
Another game and another victory for Viktoria Plzeň. This week, Mladá Boleslav became the latest side to the Doosan Arena club, though the game was overshadowed by a serious-looking injury to David Limberský, who was substituted after nasty clash with Nikolaj Komličenko. After spending a night in hospital, it was confirmed that the Plzeň left-back required surgery to fix a broken jaw.
A noticeable portion of the Sparta Prague fanbase stayed away from Sunday’s visit of Teplice (in protest of the continued employment of Andrea Stramaccioni – can we say why?). Not that this had an effect. Václav Kadlec scored twice, either side of a scrappy goal from David Lafata, to guide home side to a 3-0 win. That result means Teplice have now lost their last seven games to Sparta Prague at the Generali Arena.
After being hit for five last weekend, both Karviná and Vysočina Jihlava needed to bounce back and restore some positive momentum. Despite being unable to keep a clean sheet, both sides came from behind to pick up victories by the same 2-1 score line.
It is an unwanted record, but Bohemians 1905 have the joint-worst record in front of goal in the top three divisions of Czech football, sharing that honour with ČFL outfit Polaban Nymburk. The Klokani did manage to keep the in-form Stanislav Tecl quiet in their game against Jablonec, but they once again failed to find the net. MartinDoležal neat finish in the fifty-sixth minute was enough to secure all three points for the visitors.
Monday evening’s game saw Slovan Liberec and Slovácko share the spoils in a game that saw an equal amount of goals and dismissals.
David Machalík was given his marching orders after just seven minutes for a rash challenge on Radek Voltr. Despite having the numerical advantage, Liberec were unable to make it count, spurning chance after chance. And when Ondřej Karafiát was sent off for a second bookable offence, it seemed that it wouldn’t be the host’s evening.
The breakthrough came with twenty minutes to go when Matěj Hybš, on loan from Sparta Prague, scored his first goal in three years to give Liberec a deserved lead. However, there would be a twist in the tale as Tomáš Zajíc netted late on to ensure that both teams went home with a point.
