Košice beat Dukla Banská Bystrica 3:0 in the Superliga's seventh round at the Košice football arena on Saturday. The hosts made it two wins and five unbeaten in a row, while the visitors have now lost five of their seven league matches.
And here's the thing — the game was settled early. M. Sovic opened the scoring in the ninth minute, then A. Maras struck twice, in the 25th and 34th. By then Dukla had already conceded three without reply, and the momentum shifted fast.
Coaches made their changes in the second half, with R. Polievka coming off in the 45th minute and A. Sivicek joining A. Balaz on the pitch at half-time. N. Kubala and S. Kosa followed at 62 and 64 minutes, while K. Palumets replaced A. Maras at 73 minutes.
To be fair, the statistics tell a different story from the scoreboard. Dukla held 57 per cent possession and completed 435 passes, but created zero big chances compared to Košice's three. Seven shots on target for the hosts against three for the visitors, and the difference was clear.
Košice's 17 successful tackles and 18 aerial duels won showed they didn't let Dukla breathe. The visitors managed 24 dribbles but only seven succeeded, while Košice's 13 attempts yielded eight successes.
The result keeps Košice seventh with nine points from six games. Dukla remain 11th with four points from seven matches, and with five defeats already, the gap from safety is growing.
