Sports News

In sports this week: Slavia victorious in UEFA Cup action. Prague teams tied for top spot in Czech football league. Katerina Holubcova comes in third at world biathlon championships, Martin Koukal sixth at cross country world cup. The race for last spots in Hockey playoffs heating up. And, Martin Straka, Milan Hejduk, and Robert Reichel carry their teams to victory in NHL action.

Slavia victorious in UEFA Cup action

Slavia Prague - Besiktas Istanbul, photo: CTK

Slavia Prague beat Turkish side Besiktas Istanbul one-nothing on Thursday night. Tomas Dosek scored the lone goal by perfectly chipping the ball in the sixty-second minute. Slavia failed to further capitalise on their lead after a Besikas defender received a red card for violent conduct six minutes after half time. Slavia is the only Czech team left in European football tournaments.

Prague teams tied for top spot in Czech football league

Slavia Prague and Sparta Prague are tied for first place in the Grambrinus League. Over the weekend, Slavia drew with Prague opponents Bohemians one-one. Other victors from the weekend include Liberec who beat Brno on- nil and Blsany who beat Hradec Kralove three one at home, Hradec Kralove, Bohemians Prague, and Olomouc are battling each other to avoid relegation, all three teams are at the bottom of the league with 11 points.

Katerina Holubcova comes in third at world biathlon championships, Martin Koukal 6th at cross country world cup

Martin Koukal, photo: CTK

Katerina Holubcova came in third place at the world biathlon championships in Oberhorf Germany over the weekend. The skier's flawless shooting and quick speeds helped her come within one and a half seconds from second place. Here's what she had to say after the competition:

"I was not very confident before the race with this tournament. After the 18 kilometre track we were all pretty tired, we were all in the same situation. It depended on how we controlled our nerves. All three of us were on the same track and I am glad I managed to maintain my pace and stay ahead of fourth."

In other skiing action over the weekend, Martin Koukal finished sixth in a dramatic finish at the cross country ski world championships in Val di Fiemme, Italy. Koukal was only half a second from securing a medal.

Race for last spots in Hockey playoffs heating up

Moving to hockey and the Czech elite league and the race for the playoffs is heating up. Four teams are within four points of each other as it is likely only two of them will qualify for the playoffs. Plzen remained in the race after beating Vitkovice four-two. Vsetin also stayed in the running for the last playoff spot by destroying last place Havirov seven-one. Pardubice remain in first place with 106 points followed by Slavia with 94 points and Sparta with 87 points.

Straka, Hejduk, and Reichel carry their teams to victory in NHL action

Martin Straka has finally returned to the Pittsburgh Penguins line-up after a number of injuries which has kept the left winger off the ice for some time. He scored an assist in a two-one victory over the St. Louis Blues. In other NHL action, Milan Hejduk scored his thirty-fith and thirty-sixth goal extending his goal scoring streak to seven games and is now only four goals behind the top scoring spot in the league. And finally, Robert Reichel added an assist to the game-winning goal when the Toronto Maple Leafs defeated their arch rivals the Montreal Canadian's five-three victory over the weekend.