Illustrative photo – Zlín footballers celebrate a goal, February 11, 2023.
Zlín/Příbram – The playoff for the first football league will start with the opening matches on Thursday. The fifteenth team of the highest competition Zlín will welcome the second team of the second league Vyškov, who will strive for the premier promotion among the elite in the double match. The third team from the second league, Příbram, will also play at home from 17:30 against Pardubice, the fourteenth team of the top league. Rematches are scheduled for Sunday. The clear favorites are Pardubice and Zlín.
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Photo gallery: First Football League 2022/23
The play-off will take place only for the third time in separate history, and so far, teams from the top competition have been 100% successful in it. Last year Bohemians 1905 dealt with Opava and Teplice with Vlašimi. In 2019, Karviná and Příbram again defended their first league status, while Jihlava and Brno remained in the second league.
Zlín will avert the threat of the first relegation since 2009. Coach Pavel Vrba's men played a goalless result at the end of the extension in Brno on Sunday, which sent the last Zbrojovka to the second league.
“In Brno, we took the first step towards salvation, but we will definitely breathe a sigh of relief when we manage the tie. It will be an open matter with Vyškov, as the team confirmed its quality in the second league, we have a tough double match ahead of us,” said Vrba.
Vyškov, which is owned by Cameroonian businessman Kingsley Pungong, plays a home game in Drnovice, five kilometers away. However, in the event of promotion, the club would have to use another suitable stadium as an asylum. One of the possible variants is Znojmo.
“We are going into the tie as outsiders, it will be a tough test for us, but we are starting from scratch and we want to be a worthy opponent of Zlín,” said coach Jan Kameník, who replaced Jan Trousil on the Vyškov bench in April and did not lose in the final six duels of the season with the team .
In the past, he trained in Zlín. “I know him well, there are still a few players there that I coached at the time, such as Fantiš or Janetzký. We want to achieve a result on Thursday that will keep us hopeful of success until the rematch,” noted Kameník.
In the last two years, Zlín met Vyškov in the domestic cup. This year, he was eliminated with him in the round of 16 after a 0:1 loss at home. Last season, the “Shoemakers” won in the third round on the opponent's field 2:1 after extra time.
“Vyškov has made a huge leap recently, it is made up of a lot of foreign players. Zlín was knocked out of the Czech Cup with them in the autumn, we played a friendly with them in the winter. We know about their strengths, but also their weaknesses. They have fast, technical and skillful players,” stated Vrba.
Pardubice won three of the last four rounds of the superstructure. The East Bohemians won both of their first league matches so far in the 2020/21 season 1:0, Pardubice beat Příbram also in the January training session (3:0).
“Nothing easy awaits us. We want to focus mainly on ourselves. We know that it will not only be about us, because Příbram has seventeen-goal Wágner in its squad. It is mainly thanks to him that they are where they are. But we also have to pay attention to a lot of other , especially young players,” pointed out Pardubice coach Radoslav Kováč.
Příbram aims to return to the first league after relegation in 2021. The Central Bohemians led the second league table after the autumn, but in the spring they struggled for a long time even after the arrival of coach Karel Krejčí, who replaced Dušan Uhrin Jr. in April. In the end, however, the team from Lithuania did not lose in the final five rounds and finished third behind Vyškov and directly advancing Karvina.
“Pardubice play combination football and are a game team, the reserve is one of their strongest points. They are responsible defensively, they have an experienced Nita in the goal, but they got injured, so it is possible that he will not catch against us, it could be less advantage. In the attack, they have an experienced striker Černý, who is also very important for them. Most of our players from the time when I worked for the national team (under 21 years),” said Krejčí.
Statistics before the opening playoff matches for participation in the 1st league:
Viagem Příbram (3rd in the second league) – FK Pardubice (14th in the first league)
Kick-off: Thursday, June 1, 17 :30.
Referee: Berka – Nádvorník, Hájek – Orel (video).
Balance in the league: 2 0-0-2 0:2.
Last match: 0:1 (season 2020 /21) Zeronik.
Pardubice: Nita – Icha, Hranáč, Vlček, Helešic – Vacek – Sychra, Hlavatý, Janošek, Pikul – Černý.
Absence: Sakala, Surmaj – Kostka, Mareš, Solil (all wounds).
The best scorers in this league season: Wágner (17) – Janošek (8).
Interesting facts:
– Pardubice have won both of their first league matches against each other so far: 0 (in the 2020/21 season)
– Příbram previously defeated Pardubice in both matches of the second league season 2017/18
– the teams last met in January this year, when Pardubice won in preparation 3 :0
– Příbram took 3rd place in the second league, Pardubice finished 14th in the first league
– Příbram was last in the top competition in the 2020/21 season
– Příbram played a play-off in the 2018/19 season, when they defended their first league membership against Brno
– Příbram have not lost 5 times in a row in the second league
– Příbram won the last 2 home matches without conceding a goal
– Pardubice are playing in the first league for the 3rd season and have not been relegated yet
– Pardubice have won 3 of the last 4 matches in the first league
– Pardubice had with 38 goals, the worst Premier League attack of the season together with Č. Budějovice
Trinity Zlín (15th in the first league) – MFK Vyškov (2nd in the second league)
Kick-off: Thursday, June 1, 5:30 p.m.
Referee: Černý – Caletka, Hrabovský – Zelinka (video) Simerský, Kolář, Reiter – Didiba, Hrubý – Vukadinovič, Slončík, Fantiš – Balaj.
Vyškov: Kinský – Němeček, Srubek, Musa, Souaré – Štěpánek, Lahodno – Alégué, Vintr, Kanakimana – Bayo.< /p>
Absence: Kozak (injury) – Mafwenta (uncertain start).
The best scorers in this league season: Kozák (5) – Kanakimana (14).
Interesting facts:
– the teams have not yet met in the first league
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– the teams met each other twice in the domestic cup; in the 2021/22 season Zlín won in the 3rd round on the Vyškov pitch 2:1 after extra time, this year they were eliminated in the round of 16 after a 0:1 home loss
– Zlín has been playing continuously in the first league since the season 2015/16, last relegated in 2009
– Vyškov strives for premier promotion to the first league
– Zlín took 15th place in the first league, Vyškov finished second in the second league
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– Zlín has not lost 3 times in a row in the first league and has lost in only one of the last 7 rounds
– Zlín has not lost 3 times in a row at home, it has suffered only one defeat in the last 6 matches there
< p>– Vyškov has not lost 7 times in a row in the second league
– Vyškov has not lost away from home in the last 3 matches
– Vyškov has not conceded in 3 of the last 4 matches
– Vyškovský coach Kameník, who led Zlín in the past, did not lose
in 6 matches on the MFK bench
