“I’ve probably never been so happy about a goal in my career,” the 25-year-old striker was relieved that more than a month of waiting for a goal was a thing of the past. “And on top of that against Bolka, I put it in the blank, so in a classic way I prevailed last time also against Litvínov, which is a full quarter of the regular season. And that’s a pretty bad balance,” Kousal knew.
He solved the outnumbering of two to one with Chlapík perfectly with a shot from the left wing to the far post. “I was in a similar situation in the last match in Liberec at 5:4 and I wanted to record. So now I told myself that I have to shoot and score a goal,” he elaborated on his thought process.
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ADJUSTMENT: HC Sparta Prague vs. HC Verva Litvínov 3:1Video: Tipsport Extraliga / BPA
Although the coveted hits were not long in coming, Kousal did not change anything about his game. “It’s stupid to deal with it unnecessarily and change something, when I know that it has always worked. It was only a matter of time before it started falling for me there. Although it’s true that I could have pushed even harder to finish,” agrees the representative, who scored five goals and added 12 assists in 23 extra-league matches this season.
At the same time, in the opening third, he realized that after a foul on Latvian Zile, whom he hit in the head with his shoulder, he would have to take a shower early. “It was unintentional. I went to poke him with the puck and as he shot he made a move forward and I hit him. When the referee showed a blow to the head, I thought I was done. I was relieved when I only got a two,” admitted Kousal and went to apologize to Zilem.
“He said to keep calm, that he drove himself into it,” explained the reaction of the bronze medalist from this year’s WC.
Even with Kousal’s foul, Sparta played five losses in a row at the turn of the first and second period. She cashed in them only once. “But we shot ourselves in the foot with so many exclusions. We lost the momentum, but I really liked the third period again. We played it brilliantly tactically, we were active and secured ourselves,” said Sparta coach Pavel Gross after the 3:1 win.
Video gallery from the match Sparta – Litvínov 1/7
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3:14
ADJUSTMENT: HC Sparta Prague vs. HC Verva Litvinov 3:1
0:23
Sparta – Litvínov 1:0 (4. Kestner)
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Sparta – Litvínov, free kick by Lajunen
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Sparta – Litvínov 1:1 (26. Baránek)
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Sparta – Litvínov 21 (52. P. Kousal)
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Sparta – Litvínov, gesture of fair play – Havelka of Litvínov revoked the expulsion
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Sparta – Litvínov 3:1 (60th Final)
The team from Prague scored for the seventh time in a row (six times they won) and secured second place in the table. They also coped with the absence of sick strikers Sobotka and Forman. “It’s great that we can represent each other and more or less every game is decided by someone else. For example, Sob and Formich won’t play next time either, and out of superstition we’ll leave them at home,” laughed Kousal.
And together with Gross, they praised the atmosphere of the match, which was attended by 16,683 fans, a record attendance of the season. “A holiday for hockey, playing in front of so many people,” the coach knew.
“I agree, hopefully there will be so many of them coming all the time. I was just as hot as a pig,” laughed Kousal, saying that due to the almost sold-out O2 arena, it was very hot in the hall.
2023-11-30 02:54:49
#Spartan #Kousal #scared #rejoiced #heat #pig #career #Sport.cz
