Riga (from our correspondent) – However, the national team should not face a blackout in the second period.
Clearly. We were not very aggressive in it, we left a lot of space for the Swiss in our defensive zone and they did what they wanted in it. We didn’t go to the first fight, we just shadowed. We just slept through it, which is such a shame. Otherwise, I think that it was not bad from us and we played evenly. We had enough chances to show how great the Swiss team is. These matches are all about patience and you won’t get many chances. And we had it unloaded.
Is the loss all the more annoying because you helped the opponent score the first two goals with fouls?
We have to learn from it. It is necessary to take the good and not to repeat the bad. Nobody wants to foul on purpose, but at this stage of the tournament and against such a quality team, it could cost us the game. Which mostly happened.
Do you see it as a positive that you were able to resist the Swiss until the end?
We believed and knew that we were capable of it. But you have to give a precise 60-minute performance. You can’t just play 40 minutes. It’s a shame that three minutes after Kubaldo’s goal to make it 2:3, which we got back into the match, we got the fourth.
Was it a tactical intention that coach Jalonen sent you to power plays with Kubalík?
We made small changes in the power play, we wanted to play it a little differently. This way we now have more flexibility, even if we sometimes need to improvise. We know there won’t be many overtimes, we’ve had two now and one goal from them is good. Better than nothing, but the Swiss actually took advantage of both as their second goal came just a second after the end.
Were you surprised by Radim Zohorna, how he immediately picked up the game of the fourth formation?
The whole line played excellently, it was our best. They kept on the puck, won the fights, which the rest of us lacked a little bit.
A lot of variables will decide that, but how nice would it be to play the quarter-finals in Riga and not move to Tampere for it?
It would of course be a plus, but it really cannot be influenced, it also depends on the position of the Finns. I am looking at the results of the second group, but it is also very complicated and it is impossible to predict how it will turn out. You can’t choose whether you want to go to Sweden, Finland, or the USA. It won’t make that much of a difference.
Who do you think was the best Czech attacker in the match against Switzerland?
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