České Budějovice eased past Straubing Tigers 7:2 in a club friendly on Saturday, completing a swift turnaround after their narrow defeat just two days earlier. The hosts had taken a point from the visitors in their previous meeting, winning 2:1 on Friday, but this time the result told a very different story. By then the visitors had already shown they could be vulnerable away from home, having lost 2:7 to Rapperswil-Jona Lakers on their last outing.
Straubing's recent form offered little comfort heading into this encounter. They had lost three of their last five matches, including the 1:2 defeat to České Budějovice and a 3:4 loss to Black Wings Linz. The Tigers had shown flashes of attacking intent earlier, scoring five goals against both Linz and Berlin, but consistency remained an issue. Things came to a head when the visitors struck early and never looked back.
České Budějovice arrived with mixed memories from their recent fixtures. They had beaten Jihlava 5:3 and the Tigers 2:1, but also suffered heavy defeats to Rapperswil-Jona and Slovan Bratislava. The contrast between their best and worst performances suggested a side that could be unpredictable. Today they proved capable of playing the second half a man up, at least in terms of intensity.
The final scoreline reflected a comfortable evening for the visitors, who moved from a single point in their head-to-head record to a commanding 9:3 aggregate advantage over two meetings. Straubing's defensive frailties, which had shown up against Linz and Berlin, were exposed again on home turf. The clean-sheet run, if there was one, certainly came to an end.
For České Budějovice the result extended their momentum, moving them from two wins in five matches to a more positive trajectory. They had dropped points in three of their last five fixtures, including that heavy 2:7 loss to Rapperswil-Jona, but Saturday's performance offered a chance to put that behind them. Straubing now face questions about whether they can raise the tempo when they need to against teams in their league.