Trencianske-Stankovce claimed a 3:0 victory over Spartak Trnava in the Round of 128 of the Cup on Tuesday evening. The hosts, who had been struggling to find their rhythm in recent fixtures, produced a performance that stretched the visitors' back line to its limit. By then, the result looked comfortable — three goals in the space of twenty-two minutes, and one side had already pulled away.
L. Mehmeti opened the scoring in the fifty-second minute, catching the defence off guard. D. Bukovsky doubled the lead three minutes later, and F. Trello sealed the win in the seventy-fourth. The sequence mattered more than the individual finishes: Trencianske-Stankovce played the second half a man up in spirit, even before any tactical changes could be made.
The statistics told a different story. Spartak Trnava enjoyed 72 per cent possession and registered 70 attacks, compared to 34 for the hosts. Yet the visitors managed only 13 shots on target from those attacks, while Trencianske-Stankovce converted two of their six attempts. And here's the thing — possession means little when you cannot find the final pass.
What stood out was the efficiency gap. Spartak Trnava had 12 corners to work with, yet could not break down a defence that stayed compact. The hosts made do with zero corners and still created more meaningful chances. To be fair, the visitors pushed forward with conviction, but the decision to play on the counter proved decisive.
Spartak Trnava arrive in the next round having lost their unbeaten run, while Trencianske-Stankovce ended a barren spell with a result that will not appear on paper. The table goes out of the window in these games — one afternoon, three goals, and a giant killed.