Sparta squeezed the juice like a lemon, yet she was afraid. We were playing for beauty, Gross was sorry

The guests must have felt like lemons in the first period. Sparta squeezed them to the last drop. “We were really stuffed. We said to each other in the cabin that it was worth it,” said the annoyed Pilsen defender Jan Piskáček.

Intervention by Dominik Pavlát, to win the puck in the corner, bring the puck to half of the field and throw it into the offensive zone. This pilsner routine was repeated for almost the entire third. However, the people of Prague took advantage of the advantage with a single shot by Chlapík, they also failed in a two-minute power play five on three. “We played a lot of beauty, we have to go to the goal more. The goalkeeper saw almost everything,” annoyed home coach Pavel Gross.

“We had 90 percent of the puck possession, but someone was missing in front of the goal. It was our mistake,” forward Pavel Kousal also admitted. However, a member of the elite formation prepared a shot for Miroslav Forman right at the beginning of the second half, which Němeček followed up with a goal a minute later. But even that didn’t break the struggling Škoda and they leveled again with two goals out of nowhere.

This time, however, Gross praised his charges for their reaction. “I’m glad we didn’t panic at all,” he said. “I liked that we stayed positive and confident. No sign of panic,” agreed Forman. The home team jumped back into the lead with Irving’s power play.

The national team goalkeeper Dominik Pavlát was able to break free, but even his 39 saves were not enough for victory. Sparta had already secured the lead and Forman secured the win with a second shot into the empty net. He thus doubled his number of goals in the season during a single duel.

“I struggled a bit at the end. But I was getting into chances, so it finally fell into place. We will immediately go into the break with a better mood,” he reminded that now the extra league will be stopped for a while by the national team break. “It’s time to get some rest. And stay with the children. So it won’t really be any relaxation,” smiled the 33-year-old forward.

While Sparta won the fifth of the last six duels and reached the second Litvínov by a single point difference, Plzeň is suffering its third defeat in a row. And it didn’t change even the hit of the holiday shooter Jan Piskáček, who scored the first goal in the blue and white jersey in the regular season. And that he was exhibitionist, the bearded defender swept away the cobwebs in the closer gallows from an angle. “That’s exactly where I was heading. And it was a good hit,” Piskáček pointed out.

After the match, he was also asked about the incident from Friday’s match, when he was inexplicably bitten on the hand by Karlovy Vary defender Michal Plutnar during a fight. He later apologized saying that it was not his intention. “I replied to his message, but I don’t want to comment on it. Everything has already been said,” said the 34-year-old former Sparta player.