FC Košice Faces Injury Woes as Captain Erik Pačinda Joins List of Injured Players

In the case of Košice, the list of injured players has grown by another name. Captain Erik Pačinda was recently added to it. Jakub Jakubko, the nephew of former Slovak representative Martin Jakubko, faced a difficult situation. His own goal could bring him to his knees. The opposite happened to the 19-year-old.

On one side, the leader of the Niké League was standing in absolute peace. On the other hand, a rookie whose squad has been significantly thinned out by injuries and punishments. In Friday’s match of the 8th round between FC Košice and AS Trenčín, the home team lost another key player, even the captain, very quickly.

Erik Pačinda, whose start was questionable, was injured at the end of the opening quarter. He returned to the game for a few more minutes, but when he took off his captain’s armband while sitting on the ground, it was clear that he had finished.

“He had something with his achilles, we pushed him a little to get over it, but right after that, according to him, his knee sprained. He will have an MRI on Tuesday. I hope that he will only miss a week or two, because there is already more than enough,” Košice coach Anton Šoltis sighed.

The guests’ concert, there could have been more goals

Trenčín was dominant in the first half. Not even the curious situation from the beginning put him off. Already in the 5th minute, Gong prevailed with a consolation shot. Immediately after the play-off, the guests won the ball again. Kupusovič ran behind the defense, lobbed the goalkeeper and he was happy for a while, but in the end he was robbed of his joy by a narrow offside. VAR checked the situation again.

Despite this, Trenčín was already leading 2:0 at halftime. And they could do more. Gajdoš’s shot hit the crossbar from the upper side, some situations were defended by Košice tooth and nail.

After the break, the home team took courage, substitute players Vasiľ and Liener, who replaced Pačinda, brought revival. The lack of self-confidence was also manifested at the end.

news-item-description">AS Trenčín football players won Friday’s duel of the 8th round of the Nike League on the field of FC Košice 3:0. They thus consolidated their position as the leader of the table, they have 19 points on their account. Žilina, which has a duel on Sunday at Slovana Bratislava, loses four points to Trenčany. The team from Košice has seven points after seven matches and will be in 10th place even after the weekend matches.

The opponent showed them how it should be done again in the 77th minute, when Bondarenko fired after a quick and precise combination. Since the ball bounced off the Košice defender Mizerák, it was the second own goal in the meeting. Even this moment had to be approved by VAR, who confirmed that the ball went into the net from the home player.

They don’t want to talk about the surprise anymore

“With the attitude and the way we played that game, we deserved to win. The 3:0 result is a nice bonus. I was a bit waiting to see what the start and two unrecognized goals would do to us, but then we still scored and added another goal.” stated Trenčín’s captain Damián Bariš with satisfaction.

His team extended their lead at the top of the table to four points, so it is certain that they will be the leaders after the weekend. How long does he dare to defend this position?

“I hope as long as possible. We will next play against Banská Bystrica after four weeks at home, and a new grandstand is opening, so the whole of Trenčín is looking forward to that match.” declared Bariš.

In the past two years, Trenčín’s football players have played in the rescue team. The last time they managed to avoid the playoffs until two rounds before the end and occupied the final 9th ​​place. Now, in their presentation, it is about something completely different.

“If we compare it to last season, maybe we could be surprised. But we also feel good in training, we know what we want to play and we transfer it to matches. So I don’t want to talk about the surprise anymore. A good team is being built, the results also help. We have to go on,” emphasized defender Matúš Kmeť, who earned his first invitation to the A-team of the Slovak national team in the September association term.

“It will definitely increase self-confidence, but it’s more of a motivation to work on yourself even more in the future,” Kmeť realizes.

It is essential to stand with your feet on the ground

Trenčín has won six times from the eight rounds so far. It is already two thirds higher than last season. The traditionally offensive team also improved its defensive activity. They conceded 10 goals, half of them in the only loss so far in Žilina (2:5).

“I don’t want to compare it with the past, I can only speak from the first day I’ve been at the club. The most important thing for me was to see how the players react, that they have formed a team and are cohesive. The approach improved day by day and we can see the progress in the matches as well,” says Trenčín coach Ilija Stolica.

Any excessive euphoria is nipped in the bud. There are also thoughts that the former two-time Slovak champion could once again play in the elite six, which he entered only once in the previous five seasons.

“It is essential that we stand with both feet on the ground and carry out the basic things we say to each other in detail. I don’t look at what can happen next in the season, I’m always only interested in the next game,” remarked the 45-year-old Serbian coach.

The coaches of Trenčín Ilija Stolica (right) and Košice Anton Šoltis. Source: TASR

On this occasion he added: “I would like to invite the fans to the next match against Banská Bystrica, which will be special. To fill the stadium because I think these guys and this team deserve it.”

The injured are missing, but 25 of them are training

The Košice camp counts new losses from week to week. First, stopper Krivák dropped out for a long time, then also Kružliak, who was supposed to replace him. Injuries also ruled out Medved and Turčák, Faško could not play due to a penalty.

Another central defender, Martin Šindelář, found himself in a specific situation, at whose side two teammates were seriously injured in the previous two meetings.

“Now Pačinda is also out, of course we lack such players. However, there are 25 of us training, we haven’t been together for the first week, so we’ve already gotten used to each other. We all have to be prepared for the fact that anyone can jump in,” pointed out Šindelář.

news-item-description">Dominik Kružliak was coming to Košice as a replacement for another key stopper of the team, Ján Krivák. Now both will be missed for a long time.

The experienced 32-year-old Czech defender had reservations about his team’s play.

“Trenčín’s deserved win 3:0. I think that says it all. We conceded two goals early on that were not recognized by VAR, but instead of learning a lesson, we let ourselves score more. The first half was very bad from our side, we didn’t look like a team. It got better in the second, but it was hard to catch up.” said Šindelář gleefully.

When asked whether there was shouting or a motivational speech in the cabin during halftime, he replied: “Probably everything.”

He apologized to the entire team

The difficult task of assuming a place in the heart of the defense, moreover against the leader of the competition, fell to the 19-year-old Jakub Jakubek. The situation from the 22nd minute, when he sent Kmeť’s cross unfortunately into his own net, definitely did not help.

“I’m sorry for the own goal, I want to apologize to the whole team. I wanted to play it beyond the goal line, but it didn’t work out. We fell asleep in the first half, the opponent seemed to have one more player and almost 70 percent possession of the ball. We have to put this match behind us, we have a rematch in Trnava already on Wednesday.” said Jakubko.

The nephew of the former Slovakian representative Martin Jakubek is to his credit how he dealt with the challenging boulder. The mistake did not break him, on the contrary. Over time, he played more and more courageously, after changing sides he even joined his team’s attack.

“I was waiting for my chance and I hope I took it firmly in my hands. In the second half, we were better overall, but if we don’t shoot properly on goal, we can’t score a goal. The opponent prevailed from the first chance, it was even an own goal again. Unlucky match for us,” Jakubko shrugged.

In addition to the play-off in Trnava, the Košice team will also play on opponents’ courts in the next two rounds. The coaches will have to think about the composition of the lineup.

“There are other boys who will get an opportunity, but they have to work harder than against Trenčín and have more self-confidence and courage, especially at home. This is not how we imagine it. Everything has its way and the players see that they have to add,” Soltis added.

2023-09-23 05:00:00
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