Sunshine, fourteen degrees, but also rain or wind. Football team Sigma Olomouc flew away from the freezing temperatures. But the team also focused on fitness while still in Marbella. The day before Tuesday’s match with Philadelphia, they had two demanding training sessions, when they also had four hundred runs.
“This week is a highlight for us. On Monday afternoon, we still had running and the boys had a lot to do. Such ugly and disgusting winter training will culminate in tomorrow’s match. After that, we will get more into tactical things and prepare for the season,” assistant coach Michal Veprěk told the club’s website before the match with Philadelphia.
The team managed the lactate
The Hanás drew 1:1 with the team from MLS. Even though they were the better team throughout the match despite the tough match. They did great. And I have to say that they really work perfectly with those doses. Today we ended an extremely demanding week. It was the pinnacle in terms of volume and intensity. The rations the boys had yesterday and the day before yesterday were really big. They played today’s match in great fatigue. I think there weren’t that many technical flaws for how sore their legs were,” praised Janotka.
“Today was probably the hardest day, tiredness set in. But it’s preparation, we have to accept it, work and prepare as best as possible for the domestic competition and the Conference League,” confirmed the scorer of Sigma’s only goal, Tihomir Kostadinov, who remembered his goals with his head, remembering two.
“I have a positive impression of the match. I liked the game presented. There were a lot of nice combinations. Of course we will criticize the lack of converting chances, but the positive thing is that we got into them compared to the last match. Then it’s about the quality itself, or a dose of luck in the finish. The opponent got into our sixteen quite sporadically,” confirmed Janotka.
But the ending betrayed his charge. “We will work on it, work hard. To create harmony between the lines and between teammates. To coordinate the best possible pairs, so that everything fits together and successful actions are completed. It is a process. We are in it. Just as I said after the last match that I saw progress, today it was noticeable again,” continued the coach.
Also in this match, Sigma switched between a defensive three and a four. It also featured new striker John Paul Dembe. He also had one of the chances, but limped off at the end of the duel. “He sprained his knee. We hope it won’t be anything serious,” believes the coach and evaluated the forward’s performance: “It’s the first time he’s touched his teammates, because he’s been here for a very short time. It’s a shame he didn’t convert the most significant situation he got into. He cut the defender perfectly, he could have scored a goal right away.”
The list of injured has grown
The list of injured Olomouc has thus expanded again. And that’s also considering the fact that stopper Jan Král and winter reinforcement Fabijan Krivak traveled back to Hanau from the training camp, who hasn’t played in any of the four preparatory duels yet and hasn’t trained too much. Both will undergo an examination, however, according to the information provided by Deník, at first impression it should not be a serious injury. The trio thus added to the already extensive list of David Tkáč’s marauders and convalescents Yunus Muritala, Filip Uriča and Václav Sejko, who did not travel to Spain. And also other Matěj Mikulenka and Dario Grgič, who are with the team in Marbella, but also have health problems.
Young midfielder Jakub Jezierski has already managed two duels for Sigma. “I would say that we played better. It was a better match than last time, we held the ball more, we played faster, we defended well. We were more organized. The facilities in Spain are great. It’s great here, we have good weather, a very nice pitch. And the team is simply fantastic. Everyone here is in a positive mood, everyone is laughing. Of course, there is also a lot of work, but it’s nice. The atmosphere is great. It’s great that I can be here,” praised Winter messenger.
The day after the match with Philadelphia, the team even went to the beach, where Jiří Sláma caught a ball from the sea in a video from the club’s social networks. “We’re going to do it, Jirka, you catch it,” announced coach Janotka, while the rest of the team kicked.
