AZ Haverlov saw off Vsetín 4-2 in a club friendly on Tuesday evening, adding to the visitors' advantage over their Czech opponents. The two sides had met just fourteen days earlier when Vsetín fell 3-2 at home, and this time the result went the other way with more to spare. And here's the thing about friendlies like these — they tell you something about where teams stand, even if the stakes are minimal.
Vsetín came into the fixture following a mixed run of results, including a heavy 3-4 defeat to Frýdek-Místek and a narrow 2-3 loss to AZ Haverlov themselves. Their most recent outing before this match was a 2-1 victory over Kraków on Wednesday, which offered little reassurance given what followed. To be fair, they had shown resilience in beating Přerov 1-0 and crushing Poruba 4-0, but consistency remains elusive at this stage.
AZ Haverlov arrived with more momentum, having won five matches in a row across all competitions. Their form included an 8-4 thriller against Martin, a 5-4 win over Poruba, and a comfortable 3-1 victory at Jastrzębie. They had already proved they could trouble Vsetín earlier in August, and this performance suggested they were building something.
The scoreline of 4-2 reflected a game where the visitors took control and never looked back. By then they had already established the pattern — capitalising on Vsetín's defensive vulnerabilities and maintaining their own attacking rhythm. It was not a spectacle, but it was efficient in a way that friendlies rarely are.
What matters now is where this places both sides ahead of the competitive season. AZ Haverlov continue to look sharper than most of their opponents, while Vsetín still have questions to answer. The gap between them, if only on paper, is widening.