Czech journalists write that the match was very difficult for Ivan Hasek's team. It was a dramatic victory in a match that could have ended in defeat under different circumstances. It was the most important victory for the team, which was defeated by Georgia, which had not won in official matches for a long time. And this result allowed the coaching staff of Ivan Hasek to stay on with the Czech national team, although there are still many questions about him because of the lack of good and not particularly confident play.
Idnes.
"Hasek's first victory" - a journalist from Idnes writes that the Czech national team won its first match in the 8th match under the leadership of Ivan Hasek, who was appointed coach of the Czech national team nine months ago.
"The Czechs won after big problems in defense in the second half. They had a good first half in which they were the better team and scored two goals. However, after the break they were just defending most of the time, but in a rare attack they earned a random penalty. When Soucek made it 3-1 with ten minutes left, it seemed like it was all over. But the opponent seemed to have transformed and put enormous pressure on our defense. Fortunately, the Ukrainians scored only one goal, although they created many more chances and could have even claimed victory.
The hero is Victoria (Pilsen) forward Schultz, who quickly took advantage of mistakes in the opponent's defense, which at times behaved very strangely.
After a sad weekend in Georgia, which was remembered for its shameful result, a completely different team took the field, literally and figuratively. With six changes in the lineup and a different formation, a well-coordinated, determined, tenacious, tough team. The Czechs worked, did not lose the fight, tried to win every ball. The team helped the coach stay. This is Hasek's first victory in 9 months and 8 matches. It's hard to overestimate the importance of this victory for the coaching staff."
Cesky Noviny
"Dramatic victory" - a journalist from Cesky Noviny points out that it was a very difficult but very important victory for the Czech Republic, which gave the country hope that the national team can play well and win.
"We can't play beautiful and enjoyable football right now, but the players' determination and fighting spirit must be at its best to fight for the result," is how Hasek commented on the victory over Ukraine. He did not invent anything and pretend that it was easy for his team, that the Czech Republic had no problems. Yes, the team did not play well. Yes, the Ukrainians created many chances and could have even claimed victory. Yes, the victory did not turn out to be beautiful and spectacular, although there were opportunities not to make the fans in the stands nervous. But it doesn't matter now. After the defeat by Georgia, after a long series of no wins, after harsh criticism from all sides, the Czech Republic just had to win. By any means necessary. And they did.
The Czech Republic scored three points and won, but this does not mean that the defeat against Georgia will be forgotten. The team has taken the first step towards the fans forgiving them. But for this to really happen, we need to keep winning."
iSport.cz
"It's terrible that there were so many Ukrainians at the stadium," iSport.cz journalist quotes Vaclav Cerny, who was disappointed with the support for the Czech national team at their home stadium. He notes that there were so many Ukrainians that it made the team feel uncomfortable, as the players hoped for the support of Czech fans.
"In Tbilisi, the Czech players faced an unpleasant opponent and a euphoric crowd that supported the Georgian players. Now the Czech players had to play against Ukraine at the Eden Stadium in Prague. It seemed like home, but the atmosphere was not very friendly to the local team. Sometimes it seemed that there were more Ukrainian fans at the stadium than Czech ones. And they were more active, constantly supporting their team, despite the fact that Ukraine was losing.
This situation caused indignation among the Czech national team players, who were unhappy that so many Ukrainians were in the stands at a home match for the Czech team. The fact is that many Ukrainians have a residence permit in the Czech Republic, so they could buy tickets not only for the fan sector, but also for any other.
Vaclav Cerny said what everyone thought during the match: "The vast majority of people came to cheer for Ukraine, the Czech Republic looked like a visiting team. It's scary that this is happening in Prague. It's scary that so many Ukrainians were at the stadium. I realize that it is hard for people and there is no positive around us lately. But we cannot allow this to happen in our lives, to let what happened today happen at the stadium in Prague. I don't care how people will look at me after these words. But it's scary, I'd rather play better in an empty stadium."
The Czech players can be understood, but they must realize that the fans are tired of bad results, bad play, and constant excuses from the Czech national team. Probably, under different circumstances, we would have seen a half-empty stadium. But because of the military invasion of Ukraine, many refugees live in the Czech Republic and took the chance to watch their home team. They have no complaints against the Ukrainians. The question is rather what comes first: poor fan support or poor performance of the Czech national team."
Orest Petruskiv
