"Our own stupidity": Plzeň throws away win over Slovácko because of new substitution rule

Viktoria Plzeň let a victory slip away in a Czech league clash with Slovácko, settling for a 1-1 draw. The culprit was a brand-new substitution rule: goalscorer Tomáš Ladra took too long to leave the pitch, leaving his side a man short for a full minute — and they paid for it with a conceded goal.

In the 80th minute, Plzeň were leading thanks to Ladra's direct free-kick strike. Coach Radoslav Kováč had decided to bring on Štefan Pirgić in his place. But Ladra fell foul of the new rule, which requires a substituted player to leave the field within ten seconds — he simply didn't make it in time. As a result, Pirgić was left waiting on the sideline for a full minute before he could come on.

It was precisely at that moment, with the hosts down to ten men, that the visitors struck the decisive blow — Nigerian forward Paul Ndubuisi finished off a slick team move.

Coaches and players react

"Of course, that's on us — pure stupidity, since Pirgić was already standing right there by the touchline," fumed Plzeň coach Radoslav Kováč. Right-back Adam Gabriel, making his Plzeň debut just two days after joining from Midtjylland, added: "I think the referee should have given the player being substituted a heads-up that the clock had started. That didn't happen."

Slovácko also breached the new rule at one point, but unlike Plzeň, their spell with ten men didn't come back to bite them. "I'm glad the referee punished not just us but the opposition too. Personally, though, I'm not a fan of this new rule — it just adds unnecessary negative drama to the game," said Slovácko coach Jan Jelínek.

Another letdown in the league

Just three days after their stunning comeback against Crvena Zvezda of Belgrade (5-1 after extra time), which sent them through to the Europa League, Plzeň suffered yet another setback on the domestic front. Having picked up only five points from four home league matches, the club will likely have to shelve any title ambitions this early in the season.

"We needed to kill the game off with a second goal. Aduu and Suaré had great chances. But we also should have handled Slovácko's attack that led to their goal much better — we got that wrong, and it cost us two points," lamented Kováč, for whom the match marked not only his European bow but also his league debut on the Plzeň bench. The outcome was a far cry from his European night. "Had we won, we'd be out there celebrating with the fans right now, everyone happy. Unfortunately, all we've got is one point," Gabriel summed up.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz