Slovan Bratislava saw off Tatran Presov 5-1 in the I Liga women's regular season on Friday. The result keeps the hosts third in the table after four rounds, while Presov remain rooted to eighth place with three points from four games. And here's the thing about this fixture — Slovan had won 4-2 in the reverse fixture back in May, so the pattern was already familiar.
Bratislava struck early through Banikova in the eighth minute, then doubled their advantage before the quarter-hour mark. Suchonova and Gondova added two more within two minutes of each other in the twenty-fourth and twenty-sixth minutes. Presov did not respond, and by then the match was effectively decided.
After the break, Tatran pulled one back through Sipka in the fiftieth minute, but that was as close as they would get. Horvatova and Hudecova scored in the seventy-ninth and eighty-sixth minutes to complete the rout. The visitors had lost five of their last six league matches, including a 1-11 thrashing against Michalovce, so the form was not surprising.
What matters here is not the scoreline but the gap between the teams. Slovan sit on nine points from three wins and one defeat, while Presov have managed just a single victory in four games. The hosts have scored twenty-one goals in their last three league matches; Presov have conceded thirty-three in that same span. Things came to a head on Friday, and both sides know exactly where they stand.