PRAGUE - Forward Tomáš Chorý was once again the central figure of Slavia footballers. After his six-match disciplinary punishment ended, he scored two goals to decide the Prague derby with Dukla, in which the defending champions won 2-0. However, the 30-year-old also made two questionable saves and received a yellow card.
The Slavs are much stronger with the big striker on the top than without him. "Sick is a kind of 'Target Man'. Everyone hits him, he can find the ball in the whitewash, it's very difficult to defend him. A very strong, quality striker who can score goals. He is here and in the national team for a reason, we had problems with him, of course," said Dukla coach David Holoubek.
The sick player was available on Tuesday in the cup match in Brozany, but due to health reasons he remained on the bench. Against Dukla, he was on the pitch for the first time in the league since being sent off against Slovácko. He scored twice before the break, the first time after a corner kick and the second time he converted a penalty. "He played for the national team and in the Champions League with Bodö/Glimt, so the break wasn't that big. His appetite was evident," said Slavie coach Jindřich Trpišovský.
The native of Olomouc served time for an unsportsmanlike punch to the groin of an opposing player. Pavel Nedvěd, the general manager of the national football team, discussed the unusual offence with him before his nomination for the September meeting. "I don't want to make excuses for him, but Tomas has our understanding. I think it was his first suspension and I believe it won't happen again," Nedvěd said when coach Ivan Hašek called up the striker to the national team.
The sick man, however, caused another stir on his return. Television cameras caught him grabbing defender Jaroslav Svozil's butt after he fell to the ground in the beginning of the match. At 1:0, he then stepped on the same player's hand as he lay behind the penalty line. The closest Dukla players called for a sending off, but referee Dalibor Černý only gave Chorý a yellow card.
"I didn't see it. I don't know how other coaches have it, but I don't have a place to watch it on the bench," Holoubek said. "I haven't seen it either. Probably a yellow card according to the rules, but I can't say if it was enough," midfielder Marcel Cermak said at the press conference.
The coaches had to ease up on Chorý again. "Anything can happen with a yellow card, but his presence is important for the team. He helped us just like Provod and Douděra, three players who couldn't play last time in Liberec," Trpišovský said.
"You can tell when Tomas is on the top. He's a 6-foot-2 dude, he's good to play on the quarterback. But all of our forwards have a similar style of play, they deny players and we find them up top. When we are under pressure, it helps us a lot," added goalkeeper Jakub Markovic, who replaced the ill Jindrich Stanek, with a smile.
ctk/gnews.cz-jav
English 
Czech 
Spanish 
French 
Italian 
Russian 
Chinese 
German