In the 19th round of the first league, Slavia’s footballers beat the newcomers from Brno 2:0. Substitutes Ewerton and Mick van Buren set up the win after switching sides. The people of Prague won the top competition for the eighth time in a row and lead the incomplete table by four points ahead of defending champions Pilsen, who will welcome České Budějovice on Sunday. Zbrojovka did not win the sixth round in a row, of which they lost the fifth, and remained eleventh.
The kickoff was preceded by a minute of applause for František Cipro. The former Slavia player and coach died on Tuesday at the age of 75 after a long illness. In 1996, he led the Vršovice team to the title after 49 years and advanced with it to the semi-finals of the then UEFA Cup. He also coached Brno before that. The entire stadium chanted his name at the beginning and end of the match.
Nigerian stopper Ogbu, one of Prague’s winter acquisitions, made his debut in the Czech league. The home team started actively, in the fifth minute the visiting goalkeeper Berkovec, who will celebrate his 34th birthday on Sunday, pulled Traoré’s header over the crossbar. Brno scored thanks to Pachlopník after less than 20 minutes of the game, but the goal was disallowed due to offside.
Slavia threatened again only at the end of the first half. Lingr headed over and Douděr’s shot from behind the goal was pulled out by Berkovec, who worked in the Vršovice team.
The “Red and White” got the lead in the 58th minute, when Ewerton shot through the Brno wall and Berkovci from a free kick. The Brazilian midfielder needed less than four minutes for his second strike of the league season.
Zbrojovka could immediately respond, but Řezníček did not lob the goalkeeper Kolář from a quick counterattack. In the 70th minute, substitute Hladík, who made his 50th league start, set up the ball in the box for Michal Ševčík, but Kolář pushed the 20-year-old midfielder’s shot into the corner.
Moments later, the ball bounced onto the small chalk to another Slavia substitute Hronko, but Berkovec neutralized his finish from close range.
But he had no chance in the 85th minute, when Van Buren, after Ewerton’s pass, headed accurately from behind the box to the post. With his 11th goal in the league season, the Dutch striker equaled Brno’s Řezníček at the top of the table of the best scorers. Van Buren scored nine of them in the autumn with Liberec. Slavia has the best attack in the league with 60 goals.
Prague players finished the rest of the game in peace, just before their second goal, 19-year-old Norwegian midfielder Zafeiris started for them for the first time in a competitive match.
Slavia have not lost in the league with Brno for the ninth time in a row, the fifth time at home. In Eden, they also won the tenth match of the league season and are the best home team in the competition. Zbrojovka did not win away from home in the top competition for the fourth time in a row.
Round 19 of the First Football League:
Slavia Prague – Zbrojovka Brno 2:0 (0:0)
Goals: 58. Ewerton, 85. Van Buren. Referee: Starý – Kubr, Vodrážka – Klíma (video). ŽK: Lingr, Ewerton – Granečný, Texl, Šural. Spectators: 12,564.
Slavia: Kolář – Douděra (84. Schranz), Ogbu, Santos, D. Jurásek – P. Ševčík, Traoré (65. Hronek) – M. Jurásek (54. Ewerton), Lingr (83. Zafeiris), Olayinka – Jurečka ( 54. Van Buren). Coach: Trpišovský.
Brno: Berkovec – Hrabina (72. Koželuh), Hlavica, Šural, Granečný – Texl, Endl – Alli (88. Rogožan), M. Ševčík (88. Falta), Pachlopník (65. Hladík) – Řezníček (88. Nečas) . Coach: Dostalek.
