Ruzomberok swept past Spisske Podhradie 5-0 in the Round of 128 of the Cup on Monday evening. The Slovak visitors made no mistake from the first whistle, but the scoreline barely tells the story of a game where one side dominated while the other had nothing to do all evening.
V. Hranos opened the scoring in the eighth minute and added another in the eighteenth, but by then Ruzomberok were already running the show. M. Boda made it four before the break with a goal in the forty-third minute, and the visitors had the deeper squad to see the job through.
P. Jevos scored in the sixty-ninth minute and a late goal in the eighty-fourth completed the rout. The hosts managed just one shot on target all evening and conceded ten corners, while the visitors kept the ball with 73 per cent possession.
And here's the thing — the statistics show a mismatch from the start. Ruzomberok registered 128 attacks compared to 66 for the hosts, and their 11 shots on target versus one tells you exactly how this game was played.
It was a rude awakening for Spisske Podhradie, who had not lost in five league games until this Cup exit. Ruzomberok come off a run of poor results, including a 5-0 defeat to Slovan Bratislava on Friday, but this performance suggests they can spring a surprise when it matters.