285th Prague Derby for Sparta

The week before the derby did not bring many good news for both manager Dušan Uhrin and Slavia fans due to many injuries and illnesses in the squad. Eventually some good news appeared prior the game itself when goalkeeper Martin Berkovec and defender Jan Bořil emerged in Slavia starting eleven.

Slavia started with two forwards – Škoda and Vukadinovič – and it was Milan Škoda who striked as a first. In the 6th minute former Sparta midfielder Josef Hušbauer sent his cross from a corner, Železník deflected slightly and Škoda fired the ball into the Bičík’s net.

It was Sparta who set the pace in the rest of the first half but Slavia held firm and denied their rival any serious opportunity. In contrary, it was Jan Štohanzl who fired his shot next to the left post few minutes into the second half.

Sparta slowly became very sharp in the second half and their best striker David Lafata restored the parity after 56 minutes. Martin Berkovec clawed his first header on the post but was left with absolutely no chance against the rebound.

In the 74th minute Sparta took the lead by Costa. Lafata again provided almost a perfect header after a corner kick, Berkovec did not manage to clear the ball and Costa fired it into the net on the far post. This all happened only few minutes after Slavia captain Martin Latka sent his header just above the crossbar in what was the best opportunity of the guests in the second half.

Just three minutes later Sparta finalized the score with Ondřej Zahustel putting the finishing touch after Krejčí’s counter-attack. 3-1.

The sewn-ones thus still wait for an away-derby win, the last one dating back to 2008. Sparta scored three in the second half securing their home victory still chasing the league leaders Viktoria Plzeň. Slavia remains on 5th place just three points behind Slovan Liberec.