Motorlet Praha saw off DUBRAVKA 5-2 in the Round of 128 on Wednesday evening, pulling away comfortably in a fixture that never really had a second half. The away side picked one up last week in the league, but this was a different beast entirely — and they made it count on the biggest stage they've played on this season.
Mach opened the scoring after just two minutes, which set the tone for what followed. Patrovsky doubled the lead ten minutes in, and Walter added a third before the quarter-hour mark. By then DUBRAVKA had not got going, and the hosts never really found an answer to the visitors' high line.
And here's the thing — the home side were meant to be competitive at this level, but this was a mismatch from the first whistle. Mach made it four on 24 minutes, Pejsa added a fifth on 36, and Walter completed his brace with a late goal in stoppage time. The clean-sheet run came to an end for DUBRAVKA, but not in a way anyone expected.
The statistics tell the story without embellishment. Motorlet Praha had 54 per cent possession and 12 shots on target compared to three, while the home side managed only three shots on target from 113 attacks. It's not the volume of possession that matters here — it's what happens when you actually get into the final third.
Both sides picked up two yellow cards, and there were no red cards to disrupt the flow of the game. Motorlet Praha had more free kicks (17 to 13) and more throw-ins (17 to 18), but the difference was in the quality of their chances rather than the quantity of their attacks.
For DUBRAVKA, this extends a run of mixed results that includes a heavy 6-1 defeat to Aritma Praha last season. Motorlet Praha, meanwhile, have not won since their 3-2 victory over Rapid Psary on August first — but this performance suggested they were finally clicking into gear.
To be fair, the Cup is where upsets happen, and this one didn't look like one from start to finish. Motorlet Praha went through the motions with the kind of efficiency that suggests they'll make life awkward for whoever they face next.