Men’s EC: We failed from the first second, evaluates the match with Russia Patrik Hruščák – ŠPORT.sk

According to goalkeeper Teodor Paul, not only did they lag behind in all their game activities, but they also lacked energy. “I’m sorry we say goodbye to the championship with such a result, because we probably ruined the impression of the performances so far,” he said Paul.

Although the Slovaks took the lead 1: 0, the first half was for the Russians. They moved relatively quickly to a bigger goal difference and documented the game dominance with a 10-goal lead after the first half. After the match, the players agreed that a dull performance in the first act buried their hopes for a successful result. With a convincing performance, the Russians did not allow the Slovak team to think of winning by six goals needed to advance to the next stage.

“It simply came to our notice then. Today was not the team that was on Saturday against Lithuania. The difference was in the excitement, the emotions, overall it was nothing like that. First of all, we didn’t say we were going to win by six goals, but simply to win. At the moment, we are not in a position to say how much we are going to win with this or that opponent. ” said the right clutch of the Slovak team Patrik Hruščák.

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The Slovaks did not succeed in playing the offensive or defense in the key first half. “We especially wished for a good start and I believed that it could happen because we had a good start to the matches with both the Norwegians and Lithuania. Unfortunately, the Russians outperformed us in all gaming activities today. “

The grief of the players during the post-match talks contrasted sharply with the feelings they had after the previous battle with Lithuania. In it, they achieved the historically first victory at the European Championships, after which they also trusted the Russians. “We wanted to fight for the process and put everything into it. So angry after the match, I’m angry that we messed it up like that. Today, we did not have as much energy as against Lithuania. I don’t know what it was. The Russians have surpassed us in everything, “ he repeated Paul.

For him, but also Hruščák, Tomáš Urban and Jakub Mikita, the European Championship 2022 was special. The matches of the basic F-group were played by the Slovak team in their native Košice, so they had extra motivation. “We were most looking forward to the atmosphere, especially we Košice residents. After a long time, we played national team matches in front of a domestic audience. I enjoyed chanting my name and the names of my teammates, after each operation I turned to the nearest ones. As for this, I enjoyed it one hundred percent, “ he noted Teodor Paul.