today 11:13
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Imagine that you have traveled from Lithuania. You played a tough European game, in which you contributed to promotion to the round of 16 of the Conference League. Physical and mental tiredness is a matter of course. In two days you will have a match in Žilina.
Against motivated guys who have lost the previous five official races. You walk away with a 1:4 beating. But that’s not all, you still don’t have room to relax. This is followed by a training session in the High Tatras, followed by a Slovnaft Cup duel on the ground of the third league Stropkov. God bless you for a narrow 3:2 victory, you tell yourself afterwards.
The players of Slovan Bratislava completed this task last season. The journey to the eastern border after all they’d been through this fall must have taken a toll on them. However, at the Stropkov stadium they achieved more than it seems at first glance. Their match was followed by packed stands, the players made the children incredibly happy with their autographs and joint photos.
Quite simply, Stropkov has welcomed an opponent who doesn’t normally travel there. For the fans present, Wednesday evening was something like exciting European Cup matches for the Slavists. A duel that will be remembered for years. This must be an award not only for the home team, but also for the guests. After all, what’s more to football?
Rearranging races always brings with it great discussion and often emotion. Not everyone came out. One has only to recall the stupid division of the second league into two groups. However, practice has shown that allowing teams from lower competitions to start in the cup was one of the best decisions made by the Slovak Football Federation.
It was possible to connect amateur football with professional football. Elite Slovak clubs gain supporters in villages. Fans of rural teams and smaller towns gain experience. The same amateur and semi-amateur players, for whom this experience is an impetus to find the time to come to training and matches in addition to work duties.
Yes, the obligation to play a game and win in a bloated schedule somewhere across the country, sometimes on a pitch that resembles a position, is not always a pleasant thing for our bigger clubs. However, it’s a negligible price for what they get back. This is favor and support.
