Sports News
Sport, of course, and Sparta Prague continued their fine start to the Gambrinus League season with a 2-1 victory away to Stavo Brno. The home team were guilty of some dreadful lapses in concentration in the match, and fell behind on 20 minutes when the Sparta wonderkid Tomas Rosicky played a beautiful pass through to teammate Obajdin who obligingly knocked the ball past the Brno goalie Libor Pribyl.
It was a match full of chances for both sides, but it was the champions that managed to grab the decisive goal in the 64th minute. Libor Sionko shook off a feeble challenge from Brno's Martin Kotoulek before placing the ball into the corner of the net.
Brno managed to pull one back four minutes from time when substitute Patrik Sustr smashed home a left-footed drive in to the visitors net. It was the player's first-ever strike in the top division. However, Sparta managed to survive a frantic last-ditch onslaught from Brno to take the three points. The match-winner Sionko said after the match: "It's not nice to let in a goal four minutes from the end and then get put under such pressure."
However, the win sets Sparta up well for the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Zimbru Chisinau in Modova on Tuesday evening.
In other matches, a last-minute free-kick from Slavia Prague's Lumir Sedlacek gave his team a rather undeserved 2-1 home win over Viktoria Plzen, and Banik Ostrava won by the same scoreline away to Viktoria Zizkov.
Click here for all the Gambrinus League results, plus the league table.
Tennis now, and Jiri Novak's fine run in the Masters Series in Toronto was ended on Saturday by the qualifier Harel Levy. The Israeli stormed into a 5-0 opening-set lead against the Czech before losing his way a bit. Novak took the second but Levy rallied in the final set to pull off one of the surprises of the tournament. Levy went through 6-2 1-6 6-4 but lost Sunday's final to the up-and-coming Russian Marat Safin.
In spite of the defeat, Novak now lies 18th in the prize-money stakes on the 2000 ATP tour.
