Liberec Bílí Tygři — Kladno: 1:3, Extraliga

Liberec White Tigers fell 1-3 to Kladrno in the Extraliga on Saturday evening, a result that left the hosts winless after their first match of the campaign. Kladrno moved into second place with two victories from two games, though the table shows zero points for both sides at this stage.

The visitors had already beaten Vitkovice and Sparta Praha before travelling to face a Liberec side that had lost their opening fixture against Plzen. To be fair, the away team showed more consistency than the home outfit, who dropped points in their debut match.

Liberec's recent run before this game included a 6-2 win over Graz 99ers and a narrow 2-1 victory against Herning Blue Fox, but they also suffered heavy defeats against Salzburg and Tappara. Kladrno's form was mixed too — they lost 2-5 to Sparta Praha and 1-2 to Karlovy Vary before stringing together three wins.

Our prediction backed the home side at 51 per cent confidence, but the match went the other way. By then it was clear Kladrno had the edge, and the visitors took it without looking back.

The scoreline tells you everything — 1-3, and that is the gap that matters now. Liberec cannot afford another slip if they want to climb out of the bottom half.