Two great lobs. Kuchta performed a masterpiece, Sparta’s coach praised the striker

“Honza performed a masterpiece. Not just by keeping his composure during chances, but also the way he worked for the team defensively. He gave a top performance,” Sparta coach Brian Priske gushed over Kuchta.

Kuchta’s first goal came after a perfectly played break that lasted just seven seconds! Slovácko lost the ball in front of Sparta’s 16, Veljko Birmančevič then addressed Kucht with a great vertical shot. The defenders of Slovácko were incomprehensibly far from the forward of Sparta, so he had plenty of time to finish.

Shortly afterwards, Tomáš Wiesner sent him a pass for the defense. Kuchta, standing on the edge of offside, took the ball, showed his back to the defenders again and finished similarly to a few minutes before. “Goalkeepers don’t like that kind of ending. They can’t actually do anything if the player throws them from far enough away. Honza handled both situations fantastically,” said Leten midfielder Lukáš Haraslín.

Kuchta’s second strike aroused negative reactions from the home team. They clearly said: it was offside. However, VAR cleared the goal. The video referees in the Czech league do not have a calibrated line at their disposal, it was difficult to determine from the television footage whether everything was in order or whether it was an offside position.

“With his feet, Kuchta was definitely behind the home player, but when it comes to his body, it’s hard to say. The shot was inconclusive for VAR to overturn the referees’ decision on the field,” former Sparta defender Jakub Podaný said in the O2 TV Sport studio.

The Spartans, in turn, were angry that the head referee Karel Rouček did not exclude Filip Vecheta for sliding on Kuchta. He showed the home striker a yellow card. Correctly? “The procedure did not go above the ankle, which was decisive. However, it was a tougher procedure,” Podaný pointed out.

Although Kuchta limped for a while, he continued in the match and should be available for Saturday’s derby with Slavia. “He continued after the fight, so it’s probably ok,” said Priske, whose team still has a four-point lead over second-placed Slavia four games before the end of the competition.