In Sports News this Monday: Čech, Arsenal, get hammered by Southampton; Football club Baník Ostrava places hope in new manager; Czech hockey team gets off to losing start at 2016 World Junior Championship; Voráček on a roll in the National Hockey League.
Football: Arsenal hammered by Southampton on Boxing Day
Petr Čech, photo: Jan Kaliba
In the Premier League on Saturday London club Arsenal could have gone to the top of the standings with a win against Southampton, but the latter club was on fire. Southampton had good chances, hitting the post once, seeing two goals disallowed (one for offside and another for a foul) but netted four which stood. You don’t often see Petr Čech allowing four; even so, the Czech goalie couldn’t really be faulted, there were cracks in the defence which were easily exploited.
Arsenal will rue the loss even more after the surprise of the season so far, first-place Leicester, lost 1:0 to Liverpool. The daily Metro in the UK reported that Čech has urged his Arsenal team-mates to “forget their Boxing Day humiliation at Southampton and respond as quickly as possible”.
Baník gets new manager
Vlastimil Petržela, photo: CTK
Football club Baník Ostrava, last in the standings in the Synot Liga, are changing coaches: on the way in is experienced team manager Vlastimil Petržela, to replace Radomír Korytář. The management expects that Petržela, who is known for giving a chance to newer players, is to rebuild the team’s roster in the hopes of turning the club’s fortunes around.
Hockey: Czechs lose in penalties against Russia
Czech Republic - Russia, photo: CTK
The 2016 World Junior Championship in Hockey has gotten underway in Finland, and the Czech team faces Slovakia on Monday. The result of this match will only be known after the taping of this programme.
In their opening match of the tournament, meanwhile, the Czechs played valiantly against opponents Russia but were beaten 2:1 when the game went to penalties. That means the team at least salvaged a point from the match. The squad has been strengthened by forward David Pastrňák who got permission from his NHL club the Boston Bruins.
NHL action: Voráček maintains points streak
Jakub Voráček, photo: CTK
The Philadelphia Flyers’ Jakub Voráček scored his fourth goal of the season against Anaheim on Sunday, racking up a point for the sixth game in a row after a slower start. The goal was not enough, however, the Flyers lost against Anaheim. The final score was 4:2.
