The football players from Žilina took advantage of the busy schedule of Slovan Bratislava, which they trained in the 6th round of the domestic Nike League four days after their historic promotion to the Champions League.
Photo: TASR, Jakub Kotian
Slovan captain Vladimír Weiss Jr. he did not look for excuses after the shameful loss.
The guests at Tehelno polí triumphed unexpectedly smoothly 5:0, thanks to which they got closer to the leader of the table and their Sunday opponent with a difference of one point. Slovan midfielder Vladimír Weiss apologized to the fans for the poor performance of his team after the unsuccessful match, but did not want to condemn him.
“It is difficult to assess. Before the game, I told the guys that this team needs motivation. It was to not lose a match in the league and we will get 0:5… The approach must be different, 25 minutes was fine, but after Kaprálik’s goal, the match broke. I’m not going to throw dirt on the team, it happens in football. We have to apologize to the fans,” Weiss said.
Slovan started in the lineup with only three players who were in the base in Wednesday’s LM playoff rematch against Midtjylland. The others who got the chance did not take it well. It was Slovan’s first loss this year, the last time he drew in a competitive match for the short end on May 11 against Podbrezová.
The master gave a lackluster performance, from the 30th minute on, the game belonged to the guests, who took home a great victory from Bratislava.
“I congratulate the Žilina players on their performance. This is a game that is cruel for all of us, but sports life also brings such results. Losing doesn’t mean you’re doing everything wrong. I clearly want to stand up for the team and the players for what they have achieved in the past months. If anyone failed today, it was us coaches. We could not prepare the team to handle the match. It’s a slap in the face, but I’m not going to judge the individual performances of the players, even though they were below average. Four days ago, however, they were heroes, and that’s why they don’t deserve to be criticized today,” Slovan’s assistant coach Boris Kitka said at the press conference.
One of the key moments of the duel was Adrián Kaprálik’s first accurate strike this season, which gave the guests the lead.
“The first goal always breaks something, the game opened up more. A goal after a long time makes me happy, it will be easier for me to play. I enjoy every match against Slovan, it’s extra motivation. This year we have high goals, we finally managed to win away from home, and I believe that after the national team break there will be some longer winning streak,” said the player, who was also interested in Slovan in the summer. The transfer did not take place, everything can change Slovan’s progress to the LM, which the player did not want to comment on for now.
MŠK coach Michal Ščášný evaluated the triumph over the league’s top favorite very well. “We respect that the home team was tired. It suited us, we have a young and fierce team. The guys were resilient, strong on the ball, Slovan couldn’t press us. The result is cruel for Slovan, it can push us to start a winning streak,” stated Ščasný, who complimented the “Whites” for their performance in the European Cup: “I would like to sincerely congratulate Slovan for an incredible job, they pleased the whole of Slovakia by advancing to the LM great advertisement for him. Hats off, much respect.’
Source: sportweb.pravda.sk
