17th round first football league: Trinity Zlín – Baník Ostrava, January 29, 2023 Zlín.
Prague – Zlín football players can be relegated from the top league after today's penultimate round of the league extension. A home setback against Ostrava and wins over Pardubice over Jablonec and Brno in Teplice will send them into the second league. While Zlín, Pardubice and Zbrojovce are at risk of relegation and at least a play-off, their opponents in the group for the rescue have already gained the certainty of staying among the elite on Sunday. All three matches will start at 19:00.
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Photo gallery: First Football League 2022/23
On Sunday, Zlín won in Pardubice 2:1 and dramatized the end of the season. Coach Pavel Vrba's men from last place, which is the only one that means direct relegation to the second league, lose only a point to both playoff positions. “If we had lost in Pardubice, we would have been in an unsolvable situation. But the win kicked us up and I believe we will carry it into the next matches,” said Vrba.
His former team did not lose the last four rounds, winning three of them and leads the group for the rescue by two points ahead of Jablonec. “Baník confirms its quality. It is already saved, but that will not be an advantage for us. We have to focus only on ourselves. I believe that the fans will come and help us on the way to saving the first league,” said Vrba. “Shoemakers” have not beaten Ostrava in the last eight league matches since March 2019.
Pardubice want to partially correct the hesitation at home against Zlín, under which goalkeeper Florin Nita made a big mistake at the end. The East Bohemians have a balanced record with Jablonec in the league season, both teams won their home match 1:0.
“It will be a fight for survival until the end. We have to recover quickly and on Wednesday, 20 warriors must start again, who are going to win. We are waiting for an opponent who is already calm, it will be all the more difficult. We certainly cannot wait for him to give us somehow for free,” said Pardubice coach Radoslav Kováč.
The Brno rookie is the worst overall in the secondary division with three defeats. Zbrojovka lost four rounds in a row without scoring a goal. The last three duels between Brno and Teplice in the top competition ended in a draw.
“In our situation, the head also comes into play. Last time in Jablonec (in a 0:1 defeat), the boys prepared chances for themselves, they did their best, they went to the point of complete exhaustion, but there were no points. We need to follow up on Jablonec, there we gave about the best performance during my time with the team. We just have to turn the chances into goals,” said Brno coach Martin Hašek.
Votes before the matches of the 4th round of the extension part:
Group for rescue:< /h4>
Trinity Zlín (16th) – Baník Ostrava (11th)
Pavel Vrba (coach Zlín): “If we had lost in Pardubice, we would have been in an unsolvable situation. But the win gave us a boost and I believe that we will carry it into the next matches. Now we are waiting for Baník, who confirms his quality. He is already saved, but that will not be an advantage for us. We have to concentrate only on ourselves. I believe that the fans will come and help us on our way to save the first league.”
Pavel Hapal (coach of Ostrava): “We know what Zlín is about. But we are preparing for it in such a way that we want to win. We expect that Zlín will go into it as aggressively as possible. We warn the players that it can be a nervous match. We must not succumb to it and do something stupid. It is you need to concentrate on your own performance.”
FK Pardubice (15th) – FK Jablonec (12th)
Radoslav Kováč (coach Pardubice): “It will be a fight for survival until the end. We have to regenerate quickly and on Wednesday 20 warriors have to start again, who are going to win. We are waiting for an opponent who is already don't worry, it will be all the more difficult. We certainly can't expect him to give it to us for free.”
David Horejš (coach of Jablonec): “I'm glad that the victory over Brno brought us peace and the certainty of salvation. We have an awful lot of injured people now and it's difficult for us to put it together. We'll see how we're going to be health-wise in the next two matches.”
FK Teplice (13th) – Zbrojovka Brno (14th)
Zdenko Frťala (Teplice coach): “Two rounds before the end, we are already saved , it's a huge relief. So far every game has been very important for us, the boys have understood how they have to approach the fight for survival. We have got maximum aggression and team performance in the DNA of the team, we will want to continue this in the remaining two games.”< /em>
Martin Hašek (Brno coach): “The situation with the rescue is still in our hands and we have to approach it accordingly. then at home in Zlín and we are here to make it through. In our situation, the head also comes into play. Last time in Jablonec, the boys prepared their chances, they did their best, they went to complete exhaustion, but there were no points. It is necessary to follow up on Jablonec, there we gave probably the best performance during my time with the team. We just have to turn chances into goals.”
