Priske on Sparta's problem: strikers are not scoring, and must

Sparta Prague coach Brian Priske admitted after the match with Baník that the team is disappointed, because Sparta had the most dangerous chances but failed to score. The three points slipped away, and the starting strikers are still a problem.

Chances but no goals

According to Priske, the match was largely even. Baník had their chances, but the biggest ones fell to Sparta: to Brunes, Vojta and Mercado. “We simply could not score from our chances,” the coach said. In the second half Mercado wasted a numerical advantage. “That is one of those moments I am talking about: we should have scored,” Priske noted.

Brunes is still without a goal, and now Vojta has joined him, having had two big chances in this game. Priske did not want to explain why the central strikers cannot score: “It is hard for everyone, I will not lie. We see it, we feel it, but that is how it is.” The way out, he said, is just one thing: hard work and the belief that the lads will score and build on it. It is the hardest part of football: lose a little confidence or rhythm, and the ball stops going in. “We need to work together on finishing attacks, because goals from the strikers are logically what we need,” he added.

Too slow and too many giveaways

The coach was unhappy with the first half: it was too slow, with plenty of mistakes and lost balls in dangerous areas. “We did not cope with Baník’s toughness and intensity. Overall, we did not show a good performance,” he admitted.

Priske substituted defender Ki-Jana Hoever at half-time, as he risked a second yellow card. Asked whether Hoever sometimes underestimates situations in defence, the coach answered briefly: he believes Hoever is focused at every moment.

On set pieces, which are overseen by Diarmuid O’Carroll, Priske said the cooperation is very good and the team keeps refining the details. When the lineup changes, the set pieces change too: on Thursday Andy Irving took them, in this match Roman Macek with Patrik Vydra. Sparta is now trying to train them to get as much as possible out of set pieces.

Around Prague, based on reporting by sport.cz