Dukla Prague claimed a comfortable victory over Lovosice in the Extraliga on Saturday, winning 39 to 26. The away side moved clear of their hosts in the table with that result. It was a day where the visitors made their quality felt from the opening whistle.
Lovosice came into the fixture sitting third on three points from two games. They had previously beaten Jicin 36-26 and drawn with DHK Plzen 29-29 before this outing. Dukla Prague, meanwhile, occupied fifth place with two points — one win and one draw from their opening two matches.
The visitors came off a 42-31 win against Strakonice and a 35-30 defeat at Karvina before this fixture. Their previous away trip to TataBanja had ended 29-24 in favour of the hosts. Lovosice's recent form had shown they could grind out results at home, but this time they found themselves on the wrong side of a wide margin.
We had backed the home side with 53 per cent confidence, but the match went another way. Dukla Prague's attacking structure proved too sharp, and the visitors never let the tie slip after taking control. The result means the hosts now have one loss on their record, while the visitors remain unbeaten.
The narrow gap between the two teams in the standings before Saturday made this result all the more surprising. Dukla Prague's away strength is now something to watch, and Lovosice will need to regroup quickly. The table goes out of the window in these games, but the performance told a different story.
