In the match of the 16th league round, the players of Jablonec beat Ostrava 3:1 after a turnaround and consolidated the fifth place in the incomplete table. Baník lost in the top competition after a series of three victories and has only three points more than the North Bohemians, but remained in third place by a score. During the premiere of coach Ondřej Smetana, Slovácko drew 1:1 with Mladá Boleslaví.
The hero of the match in Jablonec was substitute Alexis Alégué, who scored two goals and passed one to Nemanja Tekijaški. Guest Tomáš Rigo opened the scoring.
Jablonec defeated Ostrava in the league after two losses in a row and won over them at home after three matches. North Bohemia coach Luboš Kozel coached his 300th match in the top competition and entered the Legends Club in a successful duel against the team he previously led.
“That’s how my life is going, the matches jump out at me. I appreciate the result very much, because I don’t know who currently has a better form than Baník. We wanted to make up for the defeat in Pardubice, the team showed will,” the club website quoted Kozla from the press conference .
“Today was without effect, but I have to praise my boys for their performance. Perhaps no one has been able to push Jablonec like that at home. We played an excellent match, it looked good in the game,” said Baník coach Pavel Hapal.
It snowed overnight in Jablonec and in the morning the playground was under a layer of snow. However, the organizers put in a lot of effort and prepared a high-quality lawn. Miner moved well from the start and was slightly more active. In the first chance, Šín appeared, Rig’s pinpoint shot ended up over the crossbar. In the 22nd minute, Frydrych shot over the goal in a great chance, Šín headed just wide. The home team threatened only after a corner kick, but Martinec missed the goal with his head.
Ostrava expressed their superiority with a goal in the 35th minute. Goalkeeper Markovič started a quick counter-attack with a kick, Ewerton, Holzer and Šín also touched the ball, which Riga released to the wing. The Slovakian representative got rid of the defender and opened the scoring with a placed shot with the help of the far post. He scored his first goal of the season and his fourth goal in the Czech league.
The home team did not wait long for an equaliser. The injured Polidar was replaced by Alégué, after two minutes on the pitch he ran onto Puskáč’s ideal pass and after excellent handling of the ball and a loop, the goalkeeper equalized. The Cameroonian offensive all-rounder scored for the second time in the league in the autumn, Puskáč scored his fourth assist in the top flight season.
Ten minutes after the break, they turned the home score around. Alégué played a corner to the near post, Tekijaški headed the ball with his back to the goal and lobbed it past Markovič. The Serbian captain of Jablonec opened his scoring account in the league season with his first goal.
Not long after, he almost scored his own goal after a miscommunication with the goalkeeper, but Hanuš was able to save the situation, just like with Buchta’s chance. In the end, Alégué again took care of Jablonec’s safety, who in the 84th minute “enjoyed” a vertical shot from Fortelný by soloing past several opponents and finishing into an empty goal. The video referee checked whether it was offside, but only three centimeters decided in favor of the North Bohemians and the goal stood.
“The first turning point was the equalizer before half-time. Alex Alégué had to go there, and his perhaps second contact with the ball led to the equalizer. After the break, we took the lead. We defended, goalkeeper Hanuš stopped us several times. We added the third goal from the break. Ours decided best player Alex, who scored two goals and an assist,” said Kozel.
“The first half was very good, we were leading and didn’t take advantage of other good situations. Then we made a mistake in passing and Jablonec equalized. In the second half, Jablonec defended fiercely and wanted to go for breaks, which it succeeded in doing. We kept pushing and had goals. They weren’t we are productive, that’s why we lost. A better team probably didn’t win, and I say that with all due respect to Jablonec,” said Hapal.
Jablonec won at home for the third time in the last four matches. Baník lost only the second of the last 11 league duels. Away in the top competition, Ostrava did not score after six matches. Baník has not been doing well at Střelnica for a long time, winning only one of the last 21 matches there.
Point for Krmenčík’s hit
In the 16th round of the first league, the footballers of Slovácko drew 1:1 at home with Mlada Boleslaví in the premiere under new coach Ondřej Smetana. Vojtěch Stránský gave the guests the lead in the 23rd minute, Michael Krmenčík equalized at the beginning of the second minute of the opening act.
Boleslav won a tie for the seventh time out of the last eight rounds and confirmed the position of the “king” of the league. The team from Uherské Hradiště scored points for the second time in a row in the 700th game in the top competition and jumped to sixth place in the incomplete table. Seventh position belongs to Boleslav with a loss of one point. Slovácko has Wednesday’s playoff in Olomouc to spare.
“I wanted to get more out of the match. We should have made it to the winning end, but we had problems controlling the game,” Smetana said at the press conference. Even Mladá Boleslav coach Andreas Brännström was not satisfied with the draw. “I was hoping that we would show better football, that’s why we are going home disappointed. We wanted to get more than just a point here,” said the Swedish coach.
The home team entered the match with great vigor and created a territorial advantage with active attacking and movement. After two corners came Slovácko’s first chance. Krmenčík got behind Boleslav’s defense, shot past goalkeeper Trmal, but his goal joy was taken away by an offside position.
In the 16th minute, as a rule, everything was already in order, but Krmenčík, who processed a shot pass from Doski in a promising position on the penalty spot, was caught by the goalkeeper. After signs of several chances, the Central Bohemians struck in the 23rd minute and turned the first serious action into a leading goal.
Stránský jumped onto Ladra’s cross from the left and opened the scoring with a header under the crossbar. He hit for the first time in the league season. “I ran from the second wave and headed the goalkeeper,” said the 21-year-old midfielder about his third league goal in his career.
Immediately, Kohút could have leveled the score, but in a difficult position he sent the ball just wide. Boleslav then matched Slovácko and gained the upper hand. The actions of Ladra and Kušej looked promising, captain Suchý’s header went just wide, and after contact between Vašek and Pulkrab in the large area, the referee did not award a penalty kick.
Still, the cabins were left in a deadlock. Kohút’s cross from the right side in the second minute of regulation in the first half was easily headed to the post by Krmenčík, which Trmal was unable to react to.
The former Czech international scored for the second time in the league season. “It’s a shame that I didn’t score more goals. I have to work on finishing and put more emphasis on it. I had three chances. It’s just up to me to deal with it,” said Krmenčík.
Slovácko was encouraged by the goal and shortly after the change of sides, the situation could have been turned around. Juroška’s long pass behind the defense found Blahút, but he did not process the ball. Boleslav launched quick counterattacks from a solid defensive block, after one of them Heča had to intervene at the post, Suché missed a few centimeters in the slide.
An interesting game had character and charge, the actions alternated on both sides. However, Krmenčík didn’t make it after the corner kick, nor did Kušej on the other side after a long penetration. In the 68th minute, substitute Vojta headed just over.
Gradually, the brisk pace dropped slightly and in the end, neither team got a significant chance. At home in the league with Boleslav, Slovácko scored for the fourth time in a row. The Central Bohemians have not lost in the last five away matches of the top league.
Round of 16 of the First Football League:
FK Jablonec – Baník Ostrava 3:1 (1:1)
Goals: 45th and 84th Alégué, 55th Tekijaški – 35th Rigo. Referee: Rouček – Kubr, Ratajová – Szikszay (video). ŽK: Martinec, Nardini, Beran – Rigo, Aririerisim. Viewers: 2863.
Jablonec: Hanuš – Martinec, Tekijaški, Cedidla – Souček (87. Hurtado), Beran (90.+4 Chramosta), Nardini (70. Štěpánek), Čanturišvili – Polidar (43. Alégué), Hollý (70. Fortelný) – Puskáč (87. Šanělec). Trainer: Kozel.
Ostrava: Markovič – Aririerisim, Frydrych, Pojezný – Buchta, Rigo, Boula, Holzer (81. Rusnák) – Šín (81. Tanko), Ewerton – Prekop (72. Kubala) Coach: Hapal.
1. FC Slovácko – FK Mladá Boleslav 1:1 (1:1)
Goals: 45.+2 Krmenčík – 23. Stránský. Referee: Zaoral – Caletka, Antoníček – Kocourek (video). ŽK: Kim Sung-pin (Slovakia). Viewers: 3219.
Slovakia: Heča – Ndefe, Vaško, Kukučka, Doski – Křišťan (85. Petržela), Havlík – Blahút, Kohút, Juroška (66. Kim Sung-pin) – Krmenčík (66. Kozák). Coach Smetana.
M. Boleslav: Trmal – Král, Suchý, Králik – Kostka, Vydra (85. Sakala), Stránský (78. Mareček), Fulnek (78. Matějovský) – Kušej, Ladra – Pulkrab (64. Vojta). Coach: Brännström.
1. Slavia 14 12 2 0 33:5 38 2. Pilsen 15 10 3 2 25:9 33 3. Ostrava 15 8 3 4 26:17 27 4. Sparta 15 8 3 4 27:19 27 5. Jablonec nad Nisou 15 7 3 5 21:10 24 6. Slovácko 14 5 5 4 10:16 20 7. Mladá Boleslav 15 4 7 4 22:19 19 8. Olomouc 13 5 4 4 19:19 19 9. Hradec Králové 15 5 4 6 12:12 19 10. Karviná 14 5 4 5 16:21 19 11. Liberec 14 4 5 5 20:18 17 12. Bohemians 1905 14 4 5 5 15:19 17 13. Teplice 15 4 2 9 20:27 14 14. Pardubice 14 3 2 9 13:21 11 15 Dukla 14 3 2 9 10:26 11 16. Ceske Budejovice 14 0 2 12 5:36 2
**Considering the overall performance trends of both Jablonec and Baník Ostrava, could this match result be considered an upset? Explain your reasoning.**
## Open-Ended Discussion Questions Based on the Football Article:
**Jablonec vs. Baník Ostrava:**
* **Coaching Strategies:** Jablonec’s coach mentions a defensive strategy in the second half. Discussing the effectiveness of this approach, considering Baník’s offensive strengths. Are there other tactical choices Jablonec could have made?
* **Away Games Struggles:** Baník has a poor away scoring record. What factors might contribute to this difficulty, and what changes could Baník implement to improve their performance on the road?
* **Jablonec’s Performance:** Jablonec secured their third home win in four games. Could this indicate a turning point in their season? What are their strengths that contribute to this home advantage?
**Slovácko vs. Mladá Boleslav:**
* **Draw as a Realistic Outcome:** Both coaches express disappointment with the draw. Considering the teams’ performances, was this outcome truly unexpected? What aspects of the game contributed to the stalemate?
* **Krmencik’s Performance:** Michael Krmenčík scored but acknowledged room for improvement in his finishing. Discuss his overall contribution to the match and how Slovácko can maximize his potential.
* **Mladá Boleslav’s Away Form:** While Boleslav secured a point, they haven’t won an away match in five attempts. Analyze their performance on the road and potential areas that need addressing.
**Overall League Standings and Trends:**
* **The Race for the Top:** After reviewing the league table, discuss the current frontrunners and potential challengers. Which teams are in a strong position, and who might surprise in the upcoming rounds?
* **Impact of the International Breaks:** How might the upcoming international break affect teams’ momentum and performance upon their return?
* **Predictions and Expectations:** Based on the current performance trends, what predictions and expectations do you have for the remainder of the season? Which teams are likely to rise, fall, or stay in their current positions?
Let me know if you’d like me to expand on any of these topics or create additional questions!
