Sparta in Olomouc: another loss, reinforcements on the bench, two injuries and top Růsek
Plzeň’s lead was reduced by a point, but otherwise Sparta cannot take too much comfort after a 1:1 draw in Olomouc. He has nothing. A weak performance with a pair of two shots on goal and one on the post did not dazzle anyone, Sigma was closer to victory. Letenští just underlined that they are not doing well starting in the spring part of the season. In addition, they lost two injured supports. What else did Saturday’s duel at Androva Stadium show?
Liberec, Baník, České Budějovice, and now also Olomouc. Four Spartan entries into the second half, four point losses. As of 2019, Letenský cannot open the second half of the year with a win. On the Sigma field, it was also a lot of misery for the favorite and the game room. The 3-4-3 formation didn’t work for the Reds, instead of combination football, Brian Priske’s players were just kicking. Compared to the performances at the training camp in Spain, Sparta fell several levels lower. “Especially in the first half, we didn’t play at the level we would have imagined,” acknowledged the Danish coach. So the people of Prague must be on the alert. If there is no drastic improvement, the spring title fight will be without them.
CUT: Olomouc – Sparta 1:1. The guests were separated from the win by a pole in the final round
Sigma claims that it does not have a replacement for Mojmír Chytil, therefore it cannot sell the player to Slavia in the winter. Yes, even against Sparta, the lanky footballer showed that he has no competition in duels. Others benefited from his power. However, one object loomed over him – and indeed everyone on the field – after all. Attack partner Antonín Růsek showed that he could lead Olomouc. Not only did he set up a goal for Navrátil with emphasis, but he was excellent in the interplay and playing difficult balls in high quality. “In my opinion, the best player of the match,” assessed coach Václav Jílek, confirming the Man of the Match award from the website iSport.cz and the newspaper Sport with a grade of 7. Hanáci hope that Růsek will repeat similar performances.
Olomouc – Sparta: Navrátil beat Kovář with a great kick over his head, 1:1!
It was a moment of fear. In the 58th minute of Olomouc’s match with Sparta, visiting striker Tomáš Čvančara was left motionless on the pitch after another Lukáš Vraštil fell on him. A long break for treatment followed, the author of Letenské’s only goal left the duel on a stretcher and immediately went to the hospital in an ambulance for examination. “He suffered a concussion, he fell unconscious for a short time,” informed Ondřej Kasík, director of Spartan communications. And coach Brian Priske was really angry… “In the first moment, I was convinced that we should have kicked a standard situation. I felt that the referee did not save our player enough,” he added. And to make matters worse, Sparta also brought Asger Sörensen, who suffered a muscle injury right at the start. “But hopefully it looks positive. He didn’t feel a muscle rupture. There is plenty of time until Sunday, when we have another game,” said Priske.
Olomouc – Sparta: Ugly clash between Čvančara and Vraštil, the attacker lay limp on the ground
Both came on a hard transfer, both got long-term contracts. However, central midfielders Kaan Kairinen and Qazim Laci did not make it to the field in the first spring round. They watched the entire duel in Olomouc only from the substitutes’ bench. Příske preferred Ladislav Krejčí with Lukáš Sadílek and despite the fact that Sparta in the midfield was not enough for Sigma at all, he did not proceed with the change. “So we decided. Sadílek has been our best player in the last three months. He is key for us. In addition, Laci suffered an illness in preparation, he is getting into it. I believe that he will fight for a place. Kaan also worked well in preparation, I liked him in the warm-up with Nuremberg, he also scored an assist. But we had to make a decision. I bet on Krejčí, who knows the opponent and the league, he is our captain,” he explained.
Who will replace Juraj Chvátal, who watched the duel in the stands together with Matúš Macík and Jan Fortelný on the right side of Olomouc’s defensive line? In the end, according to assumptions, it was Pavel Zifčák, a former striker, who won the internal battle over the young pair of Filip Slavíček and Matěj Hadaš. He managed a difficult task against Jaroslav Zeleny. “I would say very well,” nodded coach Václav Jílek. The 3-4-1-2 system suited the 23-year-old pupil, it would have been more difficult in the classic “four”. It was after Zifčák’s action that Jan Navrátil’s goal was scored. “Over time, the technical quality went down a little under the weight of the fitness demands, but there was no problem on his part,” added Jílek.