Czechia U21 edged Slovakia in tense battle

After a somewhat nervous start, the Czech women took control of the game when captain Patricie Škorpíková scored a well-placed shot under the crossbar, giving them the lead. Lopušanová had a chance to equalize but couldn't find a gap between Hořínková's pads. The Slovak star had several more opportunities but couldn't convert any. Sarah Nilabičová took the matter into her hands during a power-play, deflecting a long-range shot. The turning point came after an unfortunate moment for the Slovaks when Tereza Kotlíková tapped in a rebound behind a disoriented Dráfová. Pavlíková had a golden chance to level the score, but she missed the empty net, leaving an opportunity for Andrea Kantorová, who outmuscled all the opponents and sealed the victory with a shot by Dráfová's pad. Therefore, the Czech women defeated Slovakia 3-1 in a valuable win.

Svijanska Arena 1

1-3

(0:1, 1:1, 0:1)

Slovakia U21 - Czechia U21

Penalties

3:2

PPG

1:2

SHG

0:0

Shots on goal

11:28

Goals and assists

22. Nilabovičová (Debnárová, Čilíková) – 9. Škorpíková (Kotyrová, Ištoková), 27. Kotlíková (Landová), 40. Kantorová

Referees

Deana Cuglietta, Erica Simpson

Official game sheet

Slovakia U21

Dráfiová – Mandelíková, Taricsová, Mateičková, Klimantová (A), Nilabovičová, Klapicová, Čillíková, Macková, Cvejnová, Hambálková S., Hambálková L., Štrbáková (C), Martincová, Rybárová, Senková, Amrichová, Nemčeková, Debnárová, Čorňáková, Lopušanová (A), Golská, Pavlíková

Czechia U21

Hořínková – Hasíková, Kantorová, Svatošová, Procházková (A), Petrášková, Škorpíková (C), Šlemarová, Ondrová, Štěpková, Pangerlová, Mikulová, Kotlíková, Konečná, Zavoralová, Kotyrová, Plecerová, Becková, Landová, Krásová, Červíková (A), Ištoková Trenér: Michal Broulík

COACHES´ REACTIONS

Marián Hambálek (SVK): I would say that this age category match was of very high quality. I believe we have a very strong team and that we will win the next match.

Václav Tůma (CZE): It was a tough game for us. We had a rest day, but the day before we had two tough matches. The girls had to confirm what we asked of them today. We wanted to play actively. However, the Slovak team did not allow us to do that, which made the match very challenging for us. But with our fighting spirit, we managed to turn the game in our favor and win. We are satisfied and want to take away new insights from the match.