Slavož Český-Krumlov and Královův Dvůr met in the Round of 128 of the Cup on Tuesday, with the visitors snatching a 4-3 victory in a match that swung from end to end. By the time the final whistle blew, the away side had done enough to survive a game where both defenses looked increasingly tired.
The opening exchanges came fast. Kabele put the visitors ahead in the twenty-seventh minute, and Ladra doubled that lead just sixty seconds later. It felt like a statement, though to be fair, the hosts refused to lie down and Kobelchuk got one back before the interval.
Polansky restored the two-goal cushion for Královův Dvůr in the forty-fourth minute, and for a while it seemed the visitors might control the tie. And here's the thing — the hosts never got out of second gear, and the momentum shifted without anyone really noticing.
Three more goals followed without clear attribution in the data. The sixtieth minute brought another, then the seventy-seventh, and finally a late strike in stoppage time that sealed it. The incident went to review in my head, wondering which side had worn down first.
Slavož Český-Krumlov come off a 5-1 win over Slavia Český-Budějovice earlier in August, while Královův Dvůr's recent form has been patchier — a 3-3 draw with Neratovice-Byškovice followed by a heavy 1-8 defeat to Viktoria Žižkov.
The result means Královův Dvůr advance, though the scoreline tells only part of the story. Three or four moments decide these games, and on this occasion the visitors held their nerve when it mattered most.