Sports News

In Sports News this Monday: Plzeň now seven points ahead of Sparta following fifth straight win over rivals; Mladá Boleslav blow points lead but Slavia draw near leaders with sixth win in row; and Třinec fail to pick up any points for first time this Extraliga season.

Plzeň seven points ahead of Sparta after victory

Michal Krmenčík (left), photo: CTK

With 11 rounds of the domestic league played, the most successful club in its history, Sparta Prague, are now a full seven points off the pace. Sparta find themselves that far back after a 1:0 away defeat to their biggest rivals of the last few years, Viktoria Plzeň, on Sunday evening. Plzeň’s Czech international defender Roman Hubník said the result was the perfect response to a Europa League home defeat to Romanian side Astra late last week.

“I’m glad that we do well against Sparta. It was our fifth win over them in a row. We took three points in front of our home fans – so I’m satisfied. I hope that after this performance we can kick on, because we weren’t doing so well mentally after Thursday. That makes this win all the more valuable.”

The only goal of the most anticipated game of the weekend came from Plzeň striker Michal Krmenčík. The 23-year-old told reporters that scoring against Sparta was the fulfilment of a childhood dream – but said it was very early days indeed.

“When you play against Sparta it’s something more than playing against for instance Zlín. Sparta are Sparta. But as we are Plzeň, Sparta must be beaten… However, we’re not even halfway through the league yet. There are other teams in the mix, like Mladá Boleslav. We still have to play Mladá Boleslav and that’s another game we need to win if we are to stay in contention for the title.”

Mladá Boleslav lose points advantage while Slavia continue to impress

Mladá Boleslav - Brno, photo: CTK

Indeed, Mladá Boleslav are ahead of Viktoria Plzeň at the top of the table on goal difference. They missed the chance to maintain their two-point lead with a 3:3 draw against Brno at the weekend. And Slavia Prague continue to impress. They are just two points behind the leaders after a 1:0 win over Slovácko in the capital that was their sixth on the trot.

Třinec fail to pick up points for first time this season

Třinec - Plzeň, photo: CTK

In ice hockey’s Extraliga, leaders Třinec failed to pick up any points for the first time all season on Sunday night. Despite home advantage, Třinec were beaten 4:3 by Plzeň. That result was quite an upset, given that the West Bohemians had lost their previous four games, and Plzeň have now climbed off bottom spot. Meanwhile, Kometa Brno could have leapfrogged Třinec at the top of the table but also ended up losing, 5:1 to Hradec Králové. Nevertheless, Brno only trail Třinec by goal difference.