Goals: 58. Matheus, 76. Virgile Pinson
The players of Mladá Boleslav entered the Conference League with a 0:2 loss at the ground of the Armenian team Noah. The Central Bohemians were a more passive team against the club founded in 2017 already in the first half, but the footballers from Transcaucasia were unable to convert their significant shooting superiority into a goal. The decision was made only in the 58th minute, when Matheus Aias, one of the nine foreigners in the home team’s starting line-up, scored.
One of the youngest teams in Europe awaited Mlada Boleslav, which last played in the main stage of European Cups in 2007/2008. Although FC Noah is not dominating in the current season of the Armenian League, it managed to knock out Ružomberok or AEK Athens in the preliminary rounds of the Conference League. FC Noah Portuguese coach Rui Mota relies on a squad full of foreigners. At the start of the competition, Středočechy faced an unpredictable opponent.
The beginning of the match did not show much chance. In the 23rd minute, Virgile Pinson got into the Boleslav penalty area, but his shot was blocked by Denis Donát. A minute later, Vasil Kušej sent a shot cross to the home team’s small goal area, where he wanted to direct his pass to Jakub Fulnek. However, the ball did not reach that goal, goalkeeper Ognjen Čančarevič foiled the action.
The home team kept the ball on their feet. They got a great chance in the 32nd minute thanks to a jam in the Středočech penalty area. The unclear action ended after Hélder Ferreira’s shot with another corner of the Armenian team. Ferreira got the opportunity in the 39th minute. The home striker ran to the Mladá Boleslav goal, eliminated Martin Králik with a jam on the way, Ferreira’s shot was eventually deflected by Fulnek for a corner. Two minutes later, Pinson fired hard just over Matouš Trmal’s goal.
At the end of the first half, Noah’s superiority was already noticeable. In the 44th minute, Imran Oulad Omar fired from behind the penalty area. The ball floated a little, but Trmal was able to tame it.
Mladá Boleslav entered the second half more actively, Patrik Vydra leaned into the ball behind the penalty area in the 48th minute, and Čančarevič caught his attempt without any problems. The following minutes did not bring great chances.
In the 58th minute, Noah deservedly took the lead. Vydra lost the ball in the middle, Pinson quickly got into a counterattack with it and presented it to Aias in front of the Boleslav goal, who cleared it for Trmal. In the 62nd minute, Čančarevič showed himself again. Kušej fought his way in front of him, but the home goalkeeper blocked his shooting attempt. In the 76th minute, Pinson increased the home team’s lead to 2:0. Eraldo Cinari moved the ball into the penalty area for Goncal Gregorio. The defense of the visitors completely failed, the unattacked Gregorio calmly presented the ball to the free Pinson, who cleared it into the almost empty goal, Trmal did not have time to move quickly enough. By the end, Noah was already controlling the game. Mladá Boleslav was unable to assert itself more significantly, its well-crafted counterattacks did not overcome the home defense.
Mladá Boleslav failed to enter the Conference League. FC Noah showed technical quality and high commitment, against which the Central Bohemians could not find an answer. In the next round of the Conference League, the Armenian team will travel to SK Rapid’s field, the only Czech representative in the competition will face Swiss Lugano at their stadium.
