NederPAOKtzis wrote: ↑Tue Oct 24, 2023 23:17
Did Zlín - Mladá Boleslav play korffball? (This is sport with always a lot of goals and here in the Netherlands we refer to this sport if scores like this occur: a korffball-result; see https://www.korfbal.cz/ if you don't know this sport)
I am aware of korffball, to my eyes that is one of the most silly sports in the world. Also, as far as I know, Czechia should be reasonably good in this sport
Round 13 October 28: Hradec Králové - Teplice 1:0 (Att: 6 412) October 28: České Budějovice - Pardubice 0:1 (Att: 2 238) October 28: Olomouc - Zlín 0:0 (Att: 3 044) October 28: Slovácko - Liberec 1:1 (Att: 4 528) October 28: Ostrava - Jablonec 0:1 (Att: 8 330) October 29: Plzeň - Karviná 0:1 (Att: 8 418) October 29: Mladá Boleslav - Sparta Praha 3:1 (Att: 5 000) October 29: Bohemians - Slavia Praha 0:2 (Att: 6 212)
Highlights of this round:
- This round was sort of an armageddon for favourites. The only exception was Slavia, which actually looked quite good away at Bohemians, scored in 20' and then for the most part controlled the match and did not allow Bohemians to get close to equalizing. Second goal in the middle of the second half sealed the deal.
- Slavia moves to the top of the standings because Sparta suffered their first league defeat in the season. In Mladá Boleslav Sparta looked unprepared for a tough match against a skilled opposition, made stupid mistakes and paid for them. It was 2-1 at halftime and this time even Sparta's strong second half showing did not pay off and Sparta conceded third goal towards the end of the match. Sparta has problems with injuries, Krejčí and Haraslín are still not ready, Vitík was also unable to play this match and the defence looked awful.
- Plzeň was also unable to shift attention from european cups back to the league. After an important win in Zagreb, it should have been an easy cruise for three points against Karviná, but Karviná had something else in mind. They took advantage of poor attitude of Plzeň, for a long time played an even match and had quite a lot of attempts themselves. In the second half Plzeň was better but wasted a lot of chances, conceded and the result is a shocking loss. Plzeň now lost three of their last four league matches and travels to Prague to face Slavia next weekend.
- Recently well playing Ostrava was a favourite against Jablonec but also here the story turned out to be quite different. Jablonec was dangerous from breakaways while Ostrava did not create much. In the end a lucky bounce sent the ball towards Chramosta who scored the only goal of the match for the visitors.
- Olomouc is another top6 club which dissapointed this weekend. Goalless at home against very poor Zlín (with a new manager Červenka) feels almost like a loss.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
7 - Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
6 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB)
5 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO), Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
4 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Ewerton (OST), Václav Jurečka (SLA), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Lubomír Tupta (LIB)
3 - Jakub Hora (CEB), Rajmund Mikuš (KAR), Tomáš Wiesner (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Daniel Horák (HRK), Adeleke Akinyemi (KAR), Marek Havlík (SLO), Mick van Buren (SLA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Adam Karabec (SPA), Yusuf Hilal (MLB), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Jan Chramosta (JAB),
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA)
4 - Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
3 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Václav Pilař (HRK), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Lukáš Budínský (KAR)
Round 14 November 4: Pardubice - Zlín 0:1 (Att: 2 816) November 4: Jablonec - Olomouc 1:1 (Att: 2 387) November 4: Teplice - Mladá Boleslav 1:0 (Att: 3 387) November 4: Slovácko - Hradec Králové 0:0 (Att: 4 093) November 4: Sparta Praha - Bohemians 2:0 (Att: 17 411) November 5: Karviná - Ostrava 1:3 (Att: 4 838) November 5: Liberec - České Budějovice 1:0 (Att: 1 827) November 5: Slavia Praha - Plzeň 1:2 (Att: 18 434)
Highlights of this round:
- another change at the top of the standings. Slavia played horribly against Plzeň, for the majority of the match was the worse team on the pitch and despite taking an early lead came out empty handed. Two breakaways by Plzeň's Jirka turned the match around in the second half and Slavia was unable to create any kind of pressure to have a chance for an equalizer.
- Sparta did not play a great match either and needed a second half penalty to score the game winning goal. Bohemians' hope for points ended there and they conceded another towards the end.
- Mladá Boleslav is another european cups favourite to crash in Teplice. The home team despite several absences of key players still kept Boleslav far from their goal and in the end scored a game winning goal in 89'. So far this season Teplice won at home against Plzeň and Mladá Boleslav and drew both Slavia and Sparta.
- Olomouc is not very persuasive either last couple of weeks, they have just one win in last six matches. They are still in the top six however.
- Baník Ostrava is hot and cold, one never knows which side they will show. They were 1-0 down at halftime in Karviná but scored three times early in the second half and won a local rivalry match. This makes them move to N4 already and they are firmly in the european cups battle as well.
- Slovácko is similarly to Olomouc not really convincing lately and a home draw against Hradec Králové is too little in the european cups fight.
- Zlín helped themselves a lot with a surprise win in Pardubice.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
7 - Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
6 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO), Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB)
5 - Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Ewerton (OST)
4 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Václav Jurečka (SLA), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Erik Jirka (PLZ)
3 - Jakub Hora (CEB), Rajmund Mikuš (KAR), Tomáš Wiesner (SPA), Daniel Horák (HRK), Adeleke Akinyemi (KAR), Marek Havlík (SLO), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Adam Karabec (SPA), Yusuf Hilal (MLB), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Lukáš Budínský (KAR)
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA)
4 - Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Veljko Birmančević (SPA)
3 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Václav Pilař (HRK), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), Amar Memič (KAR)
Round 15 November 11: Hradec Králové - Liberec 1:1 (Att: 6 318) November 11: České Budějovice - Teplice 0:1 (Att: 1 937) November 11: Mladá Boleslav - Pardubice 1:0 (Att: 1 510) November 11: Zlín - Jablonec 1:1 (Att: 3 031) November 11: Bohemians - Karviná 1:0 (Att: 4 279) November 12: Plzeň - Slovácko 1:4 (Att: 8 402) November 12: Ostrava - Sparta Praha 0:1 (Att: 15 081) November 12: Olomouc - Slavia Praha 1:3 (Att: 8 897)
Highlights of this round:
- We are right at the half of regular season.
- Sparta played a very tough match in Ostrava, for the most part of the match was under pressure, but nevertheless came out victorious after Panák's header from a corner kick. Ostrava amassed more than 2,00 xG but wasn't able to score.
- Slavia had it a bit easier in Olomouc as Wallem scored already in 4'. Olomouc equalized soon after that but Tomič scored before halftime, Jurečka added a third in 56' and Slavia then looked in control.
- Plzeň is out of the title race after a horrible 1-4 defeat at home to Slovácko. Plzeň lead 1-0 and everything looked smooth but Doski equalized before halftime with a deflected shot and in the second half Slovácko scored three times in the span of 10 minutes.
- Just two points separate N3 from N7 at this point with Mladá Boleslav occupying the best spot after a 1-0 win against Pardubice. Their superstar Kušej scored the only goal of the match. Mladá Boleslav moreover still has their Round 6 home match against Plzeň postponed, it will take place December 6.
- There is a four point gap between N7 and N8 and it surely seems as teams below N7 do not belong to european cups contention. Bohemians and Teplice won this week and are rising, Teplice with remarkable total score 12-14 after 15 matches. Their center back Chaloupek is rumoured to be heading to Slavia in winter.
- Zlín is no longer at the bottom as they grabbed a point at home against Jablonec. České Budějovice may be playing with quite an attractive style but 11 defeats out of 15 matches speak for themselves.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
7 - Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
6 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO), Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
5 - Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Ewerton (OST), Marek Havlík (SLO), Václav Jurečka (SLA)
4 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Erik Jirka (PLZ)
3 - Jakub Hora (CEB), Rajmund Mikuš (KAR), Tomáš Wiesner (SPA), Daniel Horák (HRK), Adeleke Akinyemi (KAR), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Adam Karabec (SPA), Yusuf Hilal (MLB), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Tomáš Chorý (PLZ), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Jakub Pokorný (OLO), Erik Prekop (BOH)
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Lubomír Tupta (LIB)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Václav Pilař (HRK), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), Amar Memič (KAR), David Štěpánek (JAB), Cadu (PLZ)
The second tier, FNL, enters its winter break. 16 rounds of football have been played, 14 remain to be played in the spring season starting at the beginning of March. Vyškov is in the lead with a healthy 4 point margin to second placed Dukla. Vyškov moreover has a better head-to head as they won both matches, this weekend 2-0 at home. Brno is a huge disappointment, nine points behind Vyškov. It surely does not feel like they should return to Fortuna liga this season, although promotion playoff spots are within reach. Just two points separate five clubs at the bottom, so the relegation fight will be interesting in the spring
Round 16 November 25: Hradec Králové - Plzeň 1:1 (Att: 7 818) November 25: Teplice - Bohemians 1:1 (Att: 2 639) November 25: Karviná - Olomouc 0:2 (Att: 1 714) November 25: Liberec - Mladá Boleslav 2:1 (Att: 1 415) November 25: Slavia Praha - České Budějovice 2:1 (Att: 16 620) November 26: Slovácko - Ostrava 2:0 (Att: 6 632) November 26: Jablonec - Pardubuce 2:1 (Att: 1 411) November 26: Sparta Praha - Zlín 2:0 (Att: 16 877)
Highlights of this round:
- Nothing new at the top. Sparta won easily against Zlín via two goals by Birmančević. Zlín was as far to getting some points as it gets despite just conceding twice.
- Slavia had a lot more work to win against České Budějovice, it was 1-1 at halftime and the game winning goal came in 72'. It was very forgettable match.
- Winter came in full strength to Czechia and snow was a factor in several matches. Mladá Boleslav lost in Liberec as the second half of the match was played on a white pitch. Boleslav's coach wasn't happy that the match was allowed to finish in these circumstances.
- Plzeň got only a point in Hradec Králové and their gap behind top two clubs is probably too large.
- Slovácko moves to N3 as they won at home against Ostrava and now have two wins against european cup contenders in a row.
- Olomouc is still very much in the european cups fight as well after a win in Karviná. This was also a snowy match.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
8 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO)
7 - Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
6 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Marek Havlík (SLO), Václav Jurečka (SLA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA)
5 - Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Ewerton (OST), Mojmír Chytil (SLA)
4 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Erik Jirka (PLZ), Miloš Kratochvíl (JAB)
3 - Jakub Hora (CEB), Rajmund Mikuš (KAR), Tomáš Wiesner (SPA), Daniel Horák (HRK), Adeleke Akinyemi (KAR), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Adam Karabec (SPA), Yusuf Hilal (MLB), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Tomáš Chorý (PLZ), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Jakub Pokorný (OLO), Erik Prekop (BOH), Matěj Pulkrab (MLB)
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Václav Pilař (HRK), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), Amar Memič (KAR), David Štěpánek (JAB), Cadu (PLZ), Lukáš Provod (SLA), Conrad Wallem (SLA)
Round 17 December 2: Olomouc - Slovácko 1:1 (Att: 2 228) December 3: Pardubice - Sparta Praha 1:1 (Att: 4 620) postponed: Jablonec - Teplice postponed: České Budějovice - Hradec Králové postponed: Mladá Boleslav - Karviná postponed: Bohemians - Liberec postponed: Ostrava - Plzeň postponed: Zlín - Slavia Praha
Highlights of this round:
- A snowstorm hit almost the whole country throughout the weekend and six out of eight matches were postponed.
- The only match played on a standard pitch was Pardubice - Sparta. Sparta with mostly usual substitues in starting eleven decided the match in the second half. VAR disallowed Pardubice's equalizer in the last minute of regular time due to a debatable yet probable offside.
- Olomouc - Slovácko raised a lot of emotions. Despite snow on the pitch, the association delegate as well as the referee let the match proceed. Before the match started, Olomouc's Navrátil got injured because he slipped and is rumoured to suffer a serious knee injury. The match itself had nothing to do with football, players could not move properly. After the match, both coaches were furious about the decision to play the match, the home coach stating that the pitch is now destroyed and probably won't be in a good shape until April.
- Slavia asked the association to postpone their match in Zlín on Saturday afternoon but the association declined with rather rude statement that the pitch in Zlín is playable and the forecast is good, which was simply not true. Slavia therefore travelled around 8 hours across the country, because the highways were stuck. Meanwhile around 15 cm of snow fell in Zlín (as was forecasted by every weather forecast imaginable). On Sunday morning the match was postponed and Slavia is furious about the whole procedure as it was quite obvious that the match would not be possible to be played.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
8 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO)
7 - Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
6 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Marek Havlík (SLO), Václav Jurečka (SLA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA)
5 - Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Ewerton (OST), Mojmír Chytil (SLA)
4 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Erik Jirka (PLZ), Miloš Kratochvíl (JAB)
3 - Jakub Hora (CEB), Rajmund Mikuš (KAR), Tomáš Wiesner (SPA), Daniel Horák (HRK), Adeleke Akinyemi (KAR), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Adam Karabec (SPA), Yusuf Hilal (MLB), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Tomáš Chorý (PLZ), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Jakub Pokorný (OLO), Erik Prekop (BOH), Matěj Pulkrab (MLB), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA)
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Václav Pilař (HRK), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), Amar Memič (KAR), David Štěpánek (JAB), Cadu (PLZ), Lukáš Provod (SLA), Conrad Wallem (SLA)
Round 17 December 6: Jablonec - Teplice 3:2 (Att: 789)
Round 6 December 6: Mladá Boleslav - Plzeň 1:3 (Att: 1 121)
Highlights of this round:
- Almost no spectators came to see two postponed matches. In Jablonec, the home team prevailed thanks to a late goal by Chramosta. One of the Teplice's goals came after they refused to return the ball from a throw-in which raised emotions quite a bit. Altogether 13 yellow cards were awarded in this match.
- Plzeň is now back at N3 after a key win in Mladá Boleslav. Pavel Šulc scored twice.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
8 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO)
7 - Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
6 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Marek Havlík (SLO), Václav Jurečka (SLA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA)
5 - Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Ewerton (OST), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Miloš Kratochvíl (JAB)
4 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Erik Jirka (PLZ), Jan Chramosta (JAB)
3 - Jakub Hora (CEB), Rajmund Mikuš (KAR), Tomáš Wiesner (SPA), Daniel Horák (HRK), Adeleke Akinyemi (KAR), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Adam Karabec (SPA), Yusuf Hilal (MLB), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Tomáš Chorý (PLZ), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Jakub Pokorný (OLO), Erik Prekop (BOH), Matěj Pulkrab (MLB), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Filip Havelka (TEP),
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Václav Pilař (HRK), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), Amar Memič (KAR), David Štěpánek (JAB), Cadu (PLZ), Lukáš Provod (SLA), Conrad Wallem (SLA)
November 1:Dukla Praha (II) - Vyškov (II) 3:1 November 1:Liberec - Mladá Boleslav 1:0 November 1: Bohemians - Sparta Praha 1:2 November 1: Ostrava - Zlín 0:1 November 16: Olomouc - Plzeň 1:3 November 16: České Budějovice - Jablonec 1:2 November 17: Velvary (III) - Opava (II) 1:2 December 6: Hradec Králové - Slavia Praha 0:2 a.e.t.
The QF draw will take place on Friday with no restrictions or seeding. Three main favourites, Slavia, Sparta and Plzeň, are joined by two mid-table clubs Liberec and Jablonec, one club fighting to avoid relegation (Zlín) and two second tier clubs Dukla Praha and Opava.
Opava (II) - Dukla Praha (II)
Slavia Praha - Sparta Praha
Jablonec - Plzeň
Zlín - Liberec
The two juggernauts face each other already in QF with Slavia being the luckier and having the home field advantage. The official date of QF is February 28, merely five days ahead of Sparta playing Slavia at home in the league.
Round 18 December 9: Slovácko - Bohemians 5:2 (Att: 3 379) December 9: Liberec - Zlín 5:3 (Att: 1 052) December 9: Sparta Praha - Jablonec 3:0 (Att: 16 111) December 9: Hradec Králové - Ostrava 2:3 (Att: 5 075) December 10: Plzeň - České Budějovice 5:0 (Att: 5 231) December 10: Slavia Praha - Mladá Boleslav 2:0 (Att: 16 064) postponed: Karviná - Pardubice postponed: Teplice - Olomouc
Highlights of this round:
- two postponed matches this time due to a lot of water still on the pitches. Some postponed matches from last week will be played today.
- Sparta was dominant against Jablonec, scored three goals early in the match and red card for their center back Vitík in the second half was inconsequential.
- Slavia had more troubles against Mladá Boleslav, after a goalless half they scored twice early in the second half which was enough to get three points.
- Plzeň destroyed České Budějovice which are in a lot of troubles. Fans of České Budějovice are not happy with the owner of the club and the owner decided voluntarily to close a part of their own stadium where the home ultras gather for their next match.
- The story of the week is four goals scored by Marek Havlík for Slovácko. Havlík jumps to the top of goalscorers list and speculations rise about his possible transfer to a stronger club. However it is rumoured that Havlík is just happy at Slovácko and is not really interested in moving to another club.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
10 - Marek Havlík (SLO)
8 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
7 - Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Václav Jurečka (SLA)
6 - Jan Kuchta (SPA), Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ewerton (OST)
5 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Miloš Kratochvíl (JAB), Erik Jirka (PLZ)
4 - Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Daniel Horák (HRK)
Top assists:
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Vasil Kušej (MLB)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Václav Pilař (HRK), Kaan Kairinen (SPA)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), Amar Memič (KAR), David Štěpánek (JAB), Cadu (PLZ), Lukáš Provod (SLA), Conrad Wallem (SLA), Petr Reinberk (SLO), Jak Kopic (PLZ), Jan Mikula (LIB), Rigino Cicilia (SLO), Sampson Dweh (PLZ)
Round 17 December 13: České Budějovice - Hradec Králové 0:2 (Att: 783) December 13: Mladá Boleslav - Karviná 2:2 (Att: 960) December 13: Bohemians - Liberec 0:0 (Att: 2 579)
Highlights of this round:
- atrocious attendances for midweek matches overall.
- České Budějovice lost at home, are dead last and their coach Tomáš Zápotočný just resigned. It is rumoured that they would like to acquire Jaroslav Köstl, assistent to Jindřich Trpišovský in Slavia. And Slavia probably wouldn't mind. However, the club is run very poorly and to start a coaching career there might not be the best choice for anyone.
- Mladá Boleslav surprisingly dropped two points at home against Karviná, who lead 2-0 early but was unable to hold on to a win.
- Bohemians and Liberec remain right in the middle of the standings, quite safe from relegation battle and quite far from the european cups battle.
- Four matches remain postponed and will be played in the spring season.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
10 - Marek Havlík (SLO)
8 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA)
7 - Abdullahi Tanko (OST), Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Václav Jurečka (SLA)
6 - Jan Kuchta (SPA), Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ewerton (OST)
5 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Miloš Kratochvíl (JAB), Erik Jirka (PLZ)
4 - Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Daniel Horák (HRK), Yusuf Helal (MLB)
Top assists:
7 - Vasil Kušej (MLB)
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Qazim Laci (SPA), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Jan Kuchta (SPA), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Václav Pilař (HRK), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Amar Memič (KAR)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Filip Kubala (OST), David Štěpánek (JAB), Cadu (PLZ), Lukáš Provod (SLA), Conrad Wallem (SLA), Petr Reinberk (SLO), Jak Kopic (PLZ), Jan Mikula (LIB), Rigino Cicilia (SLO), Sampson Dweh (PLZ)
Round 19 December 16: Mladá Boleslav - Slovácko 0:1 (Att: 1 036) December 16: Zlín - Hradec Králové 4:0 (Att: 1 987) December 16: Pardubice - Liberec 2:0 (Att: 2 189) December 16: Jablonec - Karviná 0:0 (Att: 1 059) December 16: Bohemians - České Budějovice 0:0 (Att: 3 712) December 17: Ostrava - Slavia Praha 2:3 (Att: 12 735) December 17: Olomouc - Plzeň 1:3 (Att: 3 105) December 17: Sparta Praha - Teplice 2:1 (Att: 16 530)
Highlights of this round:
- Sparta had a very tough match to finish the fall part of the season. Sadílek was sent off for preventing a clear goal in 4' and Sparta played the whole match one man down. Teplice scored soon after that and until around 60' wasted several good chances to go two goals up. Towards the end of the match, Sparta became clearly better and after two mistakes by Teplice's goalkeeper Grigar turned the match around.
- Ostrava - Slavia was one of the best matches of the season so far. Slavia took the lead but in three minutes after the first goal conceded twice. A mistake defending a long throw-in lead to an equalizer and 2-2 was the score at halftime. In the second half Slavia scored the game winning goal from a corner kick, soon after that Ostrava's forward Tanko was sent off for attacking Slavia's Douděra when the play was interrupted. Ostrava then wasted two good scoring opportunities and the final 20 minutes Slavia controlled the match.
- Plzeň conceded early in Olomouc but literally 10 seconds after resuming the play equalized and scored the game winning goal at the end of the first half. The third goal was an empty net goal at the very end of the added time of second half.
- Slovácko won an important match in Mladá Boleslav, which had bad end of the fall season and fell to N7. The only goal was scored from a corner kick. There is now seven points gap between Slovácko at N4 and Olomouc at N5.
- In the relegation fight, Zlín took crucial three points against Hradec Králové in a surprisingly easy 4-0 win.
- České Budějovice are in shambles and a point for a draw at Bohemians is good for them. There are rumours about change of ownership and the whole leadership.
- Pardubice took an important win against Liberec.
Champions League CHQ2, Champions League ncQ2, Cup Winner = Europa League Q3, Europa Conference League Q2, ECL Q2 playoff, Relegation playoff, Relegation
Top scorers:
10 - Marek Havlík (SLO)
8 - Lukáš Juliš (OLO), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Pavel Šulc (PLZ), Václav Jurečka (SLA)
7 - Abdullahi Tanko (OST)
6 - Jan Kuchta (SPA), Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Daniel Mareček (MLB), Vasil Kušej (MLB), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ewerton (OST)
5 - Pavel Bucha (PLZ), Lamin Jawo (MLB), Mojmír Chytil (SLA), Miloš Kratochvíl (JAB), Erik Jirka (PLZ), Mick van Buren (SLA), David Buchta (OST)
4 - Jan Vodháněl (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Luka Kulenovič (LIB), Jan Chramosta (JAB), Christian Frýdek (LIB), Daniel Horák (HRK), Yusuf Helal (MLB), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Tomáš Zlatohlávek (PCE), Kryštof Daněk (SPA/PCE)
Top assists:
7 - Vasil Kušej (MLB)
6 - Qazim Laci (SPA)
5 - Rafiu Durosinmi (PLZ), Lukáš Kalvach (PLZ), Veljko Birmančević (SPA), Ondřej Zmrzlý (OLO), Lubomír Tupta (LIB), Jan Kuchta (SPA)
4 - Milan Petržela (SLO), Antonín Fantiš (ZLN), Lukáš Haraslín (SPA), Václav Pilař (HRK), Kaan Kairinen (SPA), Amar Memič (KAR), Radim Breite (OLO), Petr Reinberk (SLO), Vukadin Vukadinovič (ZLN), Cadu (PLZ)
3 - Juraj Chvátal (OLO), Jan Kovařík (BOH), Jiří Boula (OST), Filip Zorvan (OLO), Ladislav Krejčí II (SPA), Marek Matějovský (MLB), Lukáš Budínský (KAR), Filip Kubala (OST), David Štěpánek (JAB), Lukáš Provod (SLA), Conrad Wallem (SLA), Jan Kopic (PLZ), Jan Mikula (LIB), Rigino Cicilia (SLO), Sampson Dweh (PLZ), Jiří Klíma (OST), Václav Jurečka (SLA)
Slavia Praha has a new owner, fourth wealthiest czech citizen Pavel Tykač buys the club and its stadium from chinese state company CITIC. There will be no immediate changes in the management of the club as Tykač is satisfied with it as well as with the coaching staff. This transaction will probably mean that Slavia will have more money to spend on transfers and will not be forced to sell players that often. Also it should open the way to build a new youth academy in Prague.
There are other ownership movements as well. New majority owner of Liberec is likely going to be Ondřej Kania, a young (age 31) millionaire who would like to lead Liberec back to european cups where it once belonged.
There are other ownership rumours regarding Teplice and České Budějovice, just recently Opava in the second tier was acquired by slovak Andrej Krajíček.
Czech football is back with the spring part of the season starting today. Short summary of winter changes follows:
Sparta Praha
In: Markus Solbakken, Indrit Tuci
Out: James Gomez, Václav Sejk
Not much happening at Letná, they were able to keep all their stars at least until summer. Midfielder Solbakken seems like the most important signing, providing depth and potentially attacking the starting eleven. Sparta is a slight favourite to win the title ahead of Slavia.
Slavia Praha
In: David Zima, Jindřich Staněk, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Ondřej Zmrzlý
Out: Andres Dumitrescu, Jakub Hromada, Taras Kacharaba
Slavia has a new owner in Pavel Tykač, who has great plans regarding infrastructure. The club should soon start building the long awaited youth academy and people in the club are talking about expanding the stadium from 20 000 seats to about 32 000 in next five years. The short term effect of new ownership is the fact that Slavia did not have to sell anybody from starting eleven and signed expensive national team players, goalkeeper Staněk from Plzeň and CB Zima from Torino FC. With these steps, Slavia's aim is clear, win the title and get to the Champions League next season.
Plzeň
In: Matěj Valenta, Lukáš Červ, Cheick Souaré
Out: Jindřich Staněk, Adam Vlkanova, Pavel Bucha
The large trasfer of Rafiu Durosinmi to Frankfurt fell down after his medical check in the german club, which was a large blow for Plzeň. Durosinmi underwent a surgery and will be out for the whole spring. Plzeň traded with Slavia their star goalkeeper for two midfielders Valenta and Červ, who however did not play for Slavia but rather were in Slovácko and Liberec, resp. Apart from this trade, left back Souaré came from second tier Vyškov and Plzeň parted ways with midfielders Bucha and Vlkanova. Plzeň will aim for N3 spot, it is unlikely they will be able to chase Sparta or Slavia, the gap is way too large.
Slovácko lost only Matěj Valenta for reasons explained above. Otherwise, no significant moves. Slovácko would like to fight for N3 and surely aims for european cup spot. Olomouc lost Ondřej Zmrzlý to Slavia but in return they get young striker Ebrima Singhateh on a one year loan from Slavia. Ostrava parted ways with Filip Kaloč and Ladislav Almási and acquired Quadri Adediran from České Budějovice and Matúš Rusnák from Žilina. Mladá Boleslav hired new coach David Holoubek, signed a new contract with their star Vasil Kušej and acquired Lukáš Fila from second tier Jihlava. Olomouc, Ostrava and Mladá Boleslav will likely fight for the last remaining european spot.
At the bottom of the standings, České Budějovice are the clear favourite to get relegated, the club has big problems regarding paying the players, they fired their coach, they lost Adediran to Ostrava and acquired only Jakob Tranziska from Admira Wacker. Zlín, Karviná and Pardubice are also far from being safe but all have better starting position and are surely more consolidated clubs than České Budějovice which are the definition of disarray.
