Malženice secured a 3:1 victory over MFK Bytča in the Sixth Round of the Second League on Sunday afternoon. The hosts moved into a more comfortable position in the lower half of the table with the result, while the visitors remain rooted near the bottom.
The opening goal arrived in the twenty-second minute when C. Luna found the net for the home side. To be fair, the pattern of the first half suggested Malženice would take the lead, and they did just that. J. Duchovic doubled the advantage before the break with a second goal in the forty-fifth minute, sending the home supporters into the interval with a two-goal cushion.
By then the visitors had switched to a more cautious approach, though it did little to stem the tide. A. Mojzis pulled one back for Bytča in the eighty-sixth minute, but the damage had been done. The substitute brought on for Duchovic in the eighty-fourth minute had already seen his contribution counted, and the late consolation did not shift the balance of the game.
Substitutions began in the forty-sixth minute when both managers made changes. A. M. Bozenik and G. Gana were among those sent off for Malženice early in the second half, while M. Boledovic and V. Subotenko followed for the visitors. The late arrivals, T. Congrady and J. Duchovic himself, came off in the final quarter as the hosts managed their game.
Cards were handed out at the other end of the spectrum. T. Congrady received a yellow card in the nineteenth minute, with A. Horvat and K. Falcao following in the seventy-seventh and ninetieth minutes respectively. The disciplinary record did not change the outcome, but it added a layer of tension to the closing stages.
Malženice sit fourteenth with five games played, one win, one draw and three defeats for four points. Bytča occupy sixteenth place after five matches, one victory and four losses yielding three points. The result keeps both sides in the lower reaches, but the home side have clawed their way back from a run of defeats.
Recent form tells the story of a home side that has struggled to string results together. Their previous five matches saw losses to Žilina II, Šoporňa and Považská Bystrica, with only a draw against Baník Lehota pod Vtáčnikom and a win over Slovan Bratislava II. Bytča's record was slightly different, with wins against Zlaté Moravce and Rosina, but heavy defeats to Podunajské Biskupice and Inter Bratislava.