Liberec footballers won the 26th round of the Fortuna: League over Zlín 2:1 after goals in the last 20 minutes and claimed their first victory after seven matches. Baník Ostrava, who lead three points from Uherské Hradiště, ended the equally long fast.
The North Bohemians avenged their opponent’s 1:2 loss in October and succeeded in mutual league duels after three consecutive defeats against Zlín. Liberec won after seven rounds and more than two months and consolidated their position in the top ten of the table. “Shoemakers” did not follow up on the previous high 5:1 win over České Budějovice, they suffered a defeat for the second time in the last three rounds and in 15th place they have the same points as the last Pardubice, who will welcome Sparta on Sunday.
Liberec started more actively and at the beginning did not lend the ball to the opponent, but their superiority did not lead to great chances. In the 16th minute, Ghali got into a promising position from the side, but his shot missed the far post.
After about 20 minutes, Zlín got knocked around and threatened themselves, Vukadinović shot over at the back post in a difficult position. On the opposite side, after half an hour, goalkeeper Rakovan blocked Červ’s attempt. The guests gained the upper hand at times before the break, and Libor Kozák headed wide from the center in a promising position.
On the other side, Purzitidis only headed into the side netting. At the end of the first half, after a break, the home team’s Ghali went around goalkeeper Rakovan on the left side in front of the goal, but instead of passing to better placed teammates, he tried to hit the open goal and shot quite high.
After the change of sides, Liberec coach Kozel sent the other tall forward Olatunji to Rondič on the pitch. After an hour of play, the recovered home Fukala and visiting Fantiš got into the game, but he was injured after a fight with an opponent and had to withdraw after only four minutes.
In the 68th minute, he fell in the penalty area after two loops and a fight with Simerský home team Cerv. The referee Klím initially gave the ball away, but after the intervention of the video referee and a review of the situation from the video, he ordered a penalty, which was converted by Rondič. The Bosnian striker scored for the third time in the league season.
In the 77th minute, an uncertain Rakovan Tuptů’s free kick into the center of the goal hit the crossbar and the running Rondič tapped the ball into the net, but after reviewing the situation from the video, the video referee revealed a close offside. The hosts only added insurance in the 86th minute, when Rondič pushed substitute Olatunji on the offside line and the Nigerian striker scored his third goal in the Czech league with a shot on the ground between the goalkeeper’s legs.
Zlín even dramatized the ending a bit. Hrubé’s cross from the corner was pounced on the back post by the Cedidlo defender and he scored the third goal in his league career with a header. However, the guests did not reach the comparison, on the contrary, on the other side, after the break, Rondič shot over the long leg. While Liberec won at home in the league after five matches, Zlín has already been waiting for victory in 27 matches away from home in the top competition since August 2021.
Bitri decided
The football players of Ostrava won in the 26th round of the first league in Slovácko 1:0 with a goal by the Albanian stopper Enea Bitri in the 30th minute. Baník ended a streak of seven games without a win in the top flight and scored full points for only the second time this spring. The team from Uherské Hradiště did not win the third round in a row and remained fifth in the incomplete table by two points behind Bohemians. Slezana moved to eleventh place.
In the fourth minute, Ostrava’s Jan Juroška sent an unpleasant shot just over Nguyen’s crossbar, but the start of the match otherwise belonged to the home team. However, the shots of Havlík, Daníček and even Petržela’s attempt to break into Baník’s slalom penalty area did not end in a goal.
Slovakia lacked more precision in the final phase, which hindered their pressure, so the guests gradually took the initiative. In the 24th minute, after a corner kick, Tijani headed dangerously and forced Nguyen to make a save at the post of his own goal.
The miner came after surviving Kalabiška’s chance. Klíma jumped for the corner kick, the home goalkeeper managed to get his header in front of him, but he couldn’t reach Bitri at the stop. The Albanian stopper scored his first goal in the Czech league after arriving from his homeland in the winter.
Daníček had a great chance to equalize in the 36th minute, who found Sinjavský’s delicate cross behind the Ostravan defense, but the home veteran shot over from six meters, just like stopper Hofmann in the scrum a few minutes later.
In the second half, Slovácko continued the pressure from the end of the first act. In the 50th minute, Sinjavskij wasted another clear opportunity when he missed the goal from close range after Kadlec’s ideal center.
Baník contributed to the high quality of the league duel with dangerous set pieces and breaks. After one of them in the 56th minute Tijani fired hard and Nguyen had to pull out another good save from his repertoire.
Dangerous actions alternated on both sides, visiting Klíma was close to the second goal after Plavšič’s action, similar to Kalabiška with Vecheta.
As time went on, Slovácko’s pressure increased, but it came up against Baník’s solid defense, supported by breaks. Almási hit the crossbar in the 87th minute, but he didn’t have to be sorry. Ostrava defeated Slovácko for the second time in the league season.
The team from Uherské Hradiště lost at home in the league after seven games, while Baník, on the other hand, won only the second of the last 19 games away in the top competition.
Hradec was turning
Hradec Králové won the 26th league round in Brno 2:1, despite losing in the beginning. Nigerian Musa Alli gave Zbrojovka the lead in the 19th minute, Daniel Vašulín equalized before the break and Matěj Ryneš decided with a shot from 30 meters seven minutes after the change of sides.
“Invaders” won after four rounds and moved to seventh place in the incomplete table. The league newcomer is thirteenth after its third defeat in a row and remains the weakest team at home with just 12 points.
The East Bohemians arrived without Kučera and Kodeš, who were eliminated by card penalties, but also without the ill coach Miroslav Koubek. Midfielder Souček returned to the Brno team after two months, but after half an hour he had to leave the field due to a renewed injury.
Both teams had been waiting for a victory since the end of February, and the guests showed more effort to end the unsuccessful series in the beginning. However, their crosses in front of the goal lacked greater accuracy, but the ball fell to the free Alli at the first corner kick of the home team, and the Nigerian midfielder scored his third goal of the league season. Řezníček, the league’s top scorer, had another chance, but he overshot twice in good positions.
Five minutes before the break, Matěj Koubek crossed on the other side, Vašulín did not hit the ball well as it fell, but even a small change of direction tricked the goalkeeper Berkovec and the ball bounced into the net out of his reach. The Hradec attacker thus decorated his 50th game in the top competition with the fifth goal in this league season. At the end of the half, the visitors’ goalkeeper Bajza pulled away from Ševčík’s hard shot.
The very active Alli wanted to ask for a penalty by falling in the penalty area after the break, but he was unsuccessful with the referee. In the 52nd minute, Ryneš from Hradec Leaned on the ball and sent it exactly under the crossbar from 30 meters. He was among the top scorers for the third time this season. Koubek assisted on the second goal as well.
Hradec then defended carefully and did not allow the opponent to have a better chance, all the shooting attempts were blocked by the defenders and the goalkeeper Bajza was almost out of work. The match thus ended with the same result as in autumn in Mladá Boleslav. Brno failed to beat Hradec Králové in five league matches since 2014.
Round 26 of the First Football League:
1. FC Slovácko – Baník Ostrava 0:1 (0:1)
Goal: 30. Bitri. Referee: Nehasil – Volf, Matoušek – Adámková (video). ŽK: Buchta, Cadu, Šehič, Letáček (all Baník). Viewers: 6250.
Slovakia: Nguyen – Reinberk (71. P. Juroška), Hofmann, Kadlec (90. Šimko), Kalabiška (71. Holzer) – Daníček (62. Mihálik), Havlík – Petržela, Kim Sung-pin (71. Travník), Sinyavsky – Vecheta. Coach: Witness.
Ostrava: Letáček – J. Juroška, Bitri, Pojezný, Šehič – Buchta (61. Cadu), Šín (75. Kuzmanovič), Kaloč, Klíma (84. Boula), Plavšič – Tijani (84. Almási). Coach: Hapal.
1. FC Slovácko – Baník Ostrava 0:1 (0:1)
Goal: 30. Bitri. Referee: Nehasil – Volf, Matoušek – Adámková (video). ŽK: Buchta, Cadu, Šehič, Letáček (all Baník). Viewers: 6250.
Slovakia: Nguyen – Reinberk (71. P. Juroška), Hofmann, Kadlec (90. Šimko), Kalabiška (71. Holzer) – Daníček (62. Mihálik), Havlík – Petržela, Kim Sung-pin (71. Travník), Sinyavsky – Vecheta. Coach: Witness.
Ostrava: Letáček – J. Juroška, Bitri, Pojezný, Šehič – Buchta (61. Cadu), Šín (75. Kuzmanovič), Kaloč, Klíma (84. Boula), Plavšič – Tijani (84. Almási). Coach: Hapal.
Zbrojovka Brno – FC Hradec Králové 1:2 (1:1)
Goals: 19. Alli – 40. Vašulín, 52. Ryneš. Judge: Všetečka – Pečenka, Kotalík – Kocourek (video). ŽK: Texl, Alli – Kubala, Klíma, Harazim, Dvořák. Viewers: 3155.
Brno: Berkovec – Hrabina, Šural, Tijani, Hlavica (78. Fousek) – Texl (78. Blecha), Souček (34. Hladík) – Alli, Falta, M. Ševčík – Řezníček. Coach: Dostalek.
Hradec: Bajza – Klíma, Čech, Smrž – Harazim, Rada, Pudhorocký (83. Dvořák), Ryneš – Kubala (90.+1 Trusa) – Matěj Koubek (74. Leibl), Vašulín. Coach: Heykal.
