One sided counts. On shots 22:3, of which on goal 11:1, ball possession 65:35%. And especially 4:0 on goals. After a smooth game, Pilsen footballers almost certainly have the promotion in their hands.
After the drama against Drita in the last preliminary round, do you feel relief from a clear result?
I’m always relieved, right from the start. It’s about the team enjoying their work, having healthy self-confidence and feeling that we are going the right way.
Nevertheless, you must also be pleased with the high win.
Succeeded. If I were to be immodest, I would say that we should have scored more goals, there were so many chances for one more goal. But not everything falls into place in football, we outplayed our opponents and were effective enough in creating chances. Then it’s about execution, we’re happy for four goals.
What can be expected in return?
Logically, it will be a match for promotion, nothing is definitive in sport. We have to go into the game with humility. We believe the lead is good. There is also a coefficient here, which needs to be taken into account. We want to succeed again.
Photo: Miroslav Chaloupka, CTK
Pilsen’s Tomáš Chorý wins a personal duel with Marcel Diaz during the match of the 3rd preliminary round of the Conference League with Gzira.
What do you think of the performance of Pavel Šulec, who scored and added two assists?
Pavel is a skilled footballer, he gives us a technical superstructure. We know he’s no gunner. But he is strong on the ball, he may overplay some situations. The second match in a row brought us great refreshment. He needed some training. Even if it would take another week, we got the physical. It is currently for 75 minutes. I tell him to go all out. After the U21 Euros, the guys simply didn’t have summer training.
On the contrary, Tomáš Chorý continues to burn one chance after another. What with this?
Everything flies by a bit, sometimes it’s incomprehensible. There are more and more matches where he is unlucky. Maybe he’s taking everything too much, maybe he should relax. When others score goals, nothing happens. But we would definitely need him to shoot himself. He has such a deaf and cursed period. But I respect his performance, he does a lot of work for others. He grinds, he toils, he presses.
Photo: Miroslav Chaloupka, CTK
Pilsen’s Erik Jirka had to be taken off the field due to an injury in the duel with the Gzira United team.
Do you agree that the offensive trio Chorý-Šulc-Durosinmi is currently able to satisfy itself?
They are there since. We have technical players, they are obliged to offer themselves to them. In the pair of Chorý and Durosinmi, the last two matches did not look bad.
Does your starting line-up crystallize when you made only one change compared to the duel with Baník Ostrava?
I wouldn’t talk about crystallization yet. There was no reason to change anything on the fourth day after the game. We only brought back Lukáš Hejda, who is experienced and strong in standard situations. That went against Honzo Paluska, but we will use him. But no one can think that Hejda will be on the bench and the young 18-year-old boy will play regularly, it is not that far yet. However, Paluska will get a chance.
How is Erik Jirka doing, who had to take a shift soon and was heading straight to the hospital?
He’s already had an x-ray, there’s nothing broken, chipped or cracked in the hip area. He will definitely need a few days to recover.
On the weekend, you travel to České Budějovice, which does not have a single point in the league yet. How do you expect the match?
I am fully aware that it will be an extremely challenging match. We’re screwed, we’re scarred. When you are in pain, your performance may not be optimal. Let’s think about it and come to some conclusion. We will try to build as fresh a lineup as possible. It will be a challenging match, both from the point of view of regeneration, the Thursday-Sunday program is worse than the other way around, and from the point of view that Budějovice definitely want the first points.