“We’re going through an unfortunate period. The lads didn’t manage the match against Pardubice, we probably offended God there. Big effort in Liberec, huge against Slovácko. We let the whole table press us and we’re playing for safety,” he said. rated Koubek during the postgame press conference.
Hradec spends the winter in fifth place in the Fortuna League with a nine-point loss to third-placed Sparta. In contrast, the East Bohemians have an advantage of only three points in the eleventh Zbrojovka Brno, i.e. in the places that mean participation in the group for survival after the regular season.
“Obviously the defeats spoil the impression of the autumn, it’s a pity. Grumpy. With Slovácko, one point would be good for us and psychologically, that the losing streak would end,” the coach complained after the game, in which his team still led 1:0 at halftime. “As for the approach and the organization of the match, we played the match as we wanted, the boys put everything into it, unfortunately we weren’t rewarded because we made some mistakes, Slovácko made the most of the least, showed a superior routine football quality. They dismantled us with the equalizer,” acknowledged Koubek.
END | Unfortunately, we lose 1:2 in an equal game with Slovácko. There’s nothing we can do, but we still winter in the standings in a beautiful fifth place!👍
⚫⚪ #votroci pic.twitter.com/Cr4Oo4CxrC
— FC Hradec Králové (@FCHradec) November 13, 2022
The decisive moment came in the 69th minute, when Filip Vecheta was brought down in the penalty area. “The still inexperienced Filip Čihák committed a really stupid foul. He can’t solve it like this, useless penalty. Stupidity that cost us points, at least we deserved one”, the coach spared no criticism.
Hradec Králové regularly starts with three centre-backs and are still among the least conceding sides in the Czech top competition. In total, he received 19 goals in 16 rounds, but seven in the last three duels.
“It seems to me that the trackers got confused, we trusted this post. Sometimes we open it, sometimes we perform late, sometimes there is little emphasis. I talk about it with players, I am not entirely satisfied with the performance individual full-backs. We still have Leibl and Ševčík, our stoppers are no worse than in other teams. Sometimes it happens like this, sometimes we have a little bit of bad luck,” Koubek stressed that the club has no plans for any significant strengthening of the defense during the winter break.
When the league resumes at the end of January, Hradec will have a tough task in the form of a trip to leaders Plzeň. “We have nothing to lose ahead, but it will probably be the most difficult match at the start of the spring season. The table still looks good, but we see punctual states on it. If you get up three times, you obviously fall. We are sorry,” said the seasoned coach.
The team’s lack of maturity can also be at the root of the lack of results. “The guys who have come in and are starting to play regularly are jumping in. We make mistakes that cost us points, while we work like horses. Efficiency and effectiveness. We have to work on it,” Koubek stressed.
