I definitely can’t say that the performance of the Czech national team disappointed me, but I think we were not prepared for how the Latvians will enter the match. It is not usual for them, but they really went into it very actively and it was due to the fact that they lost the first two games. They knew that they had to score points at all costs in order to get in the mood for the rest of the tournament. They put a thousand percent into it.
It was clear from the beginning that the Latvians really care a lot. They stepped into it much better and at a much more brisk pace. Plus they had much better movement. The Czech team struggled to get out of this passage of play and searched in vain for a way out. Although he was helped a little by the first goal, thanks to which he got back into the match.
Photo: David Taneček, CTK
Dominik Kubalík (far left) leveled the WC duel with Latvia at 2:2.
But in the end, it was the taste and the desire to win that decided. And even though we managed to tame Latvia’s pace in the end, it wasn’t enough in the end. If I take it as a whole, we were not better. That’s why we can be happy that the point is enough for us. In addition, the Latvians were at home, they were driven by a fantastic audience, which also helped them.
In addition, the coaches had to respond to the absence of Filip Chytil before the match, who was greatly missed by the national team today. From what I have had the chance to watch him, he is a very good player with great movement. He had a successful entry into the championship, and then unfortunately an injury came. It was a hit in the lineup. However, it is not an excuse that we were not enough against the Latvians and with their pace we had big problems throughout the match.
I myself wondered before the match why Karel Vejmelka had not yet had a chance in the goal area. I have no idea if Karel has some minor injuries or something similar. But it is the decision of the coaches and goalkeeper coach Zdeňko Orcto. They know what they are doing. They then work with the goalkeepers according to their best knowledge and conscience.
However, today’s defeat is definitely not the fault of the goalkeeper. The key was the missed start of the duel, in which we could not keep up with the Latvian start.
Tomas Vlasak
He was with the national team for a golden hat-trick at the world championships from 1999 to 2001. The former outstanding striker played 135 matches for the national team, scoring 43 goals. He also played at the 2004 World Cup, where the Czechs reached the semi-finals. He is the champion of the Russian Super League with Omsk, in the domestic extra league he won the championship with Pilsen. He tried the highest competition in Finland, Sweden, Russia and Switzerland, in the NHL he has 10 games for Los Angeles. For the past seven years, he has held the post of sports manager at HC Škoda Plzeň.
