“Right from the first substitution, we opened the scoring, but then almost everything was wrong from our point of view. We weren’t in the match at all, we didn’t enjoy it at all,” Kometa coach Patrik Martinec lamented. Immediately, however, he emphasized that he definitely does not diminish the excellent performance of Vítkovic. “They won deservedly,” he acknowledged.
He regrets that the problem with the ice and the long wait to see if the match will continue at all spoiled the impression of the match. “That’s why I’m very disappointed. I admire the fans for hanging on and not going home. It was sold out, it was supposed to be a hockey celebration. Unfortunately, the long break probably affected us more than the opponent. We had a day when everything was left-handed. I can’t blame the players for a lack of fight, but unfortunately we didn’t do well this time. We now have to prepare well for Wednesday’s duel. I believe that with the support of our great supporters, we will manage it much better,” Martinec wished.
Brno captain Martin Zaťovič did not want to make excuses for the forced break, which apparently took his team off the pace. “It was the same for us and for Vítkovice. We certainly didn’t lose because of a hole in the ice. Rather, we need to analyze why we conceded goals from the area in front of the goal. And, of course, to learn from mistakes for the next match,” the experienced striker planned.
He revealed how the Comet hockey players spent the long break. “We loosened the laces on the skates, I took off my jersey for a while. In addition, I went with the Vítkovice captain to meetings with the referees to see if it was possible to continue the match. I didn’t think about the postponement at all. It was just a matter of giving it some time, so that the place where the hole appeared froze sufficiently,” claimed Zaťovič.
He didn’t want to speculate too much about why the ice problems have been happening more and more recently. “I don’t know if it’s a coincidence or not. Maybe it will also be the fact that most stadiums have new handrails,” he reflected.
Zaťovič was already thinking about Wednesday’s duel, in which Kometa will want to return the loss to Ostrava and level the series at 2:2. “We have to push even harder in front of the Vítkovice goal. It wants to increase the emphasis and fire at every opportunity. We often unnecessarily try to pass to an even better position. And then we often hit opponents’ hockey sticks. We have to change that in any case,” the Brno veteran rages.
