The first win of the season came when least expected

1. FK Svidník - ŠK Odeva Lipany 1-0 (1-0)

Vasil' 34'

Sunday, 15 October 2023, 3 pm local time (1 pm UTC), Svidník City Stadium, Svidník, Slovakia, 11th round of the Slovak Third League, East Group (III. Liga, Východ).

 ŠK Odeva Lipany (left, in green), the referees and 1. FK Svidník (in red) before the start of the game. Photo source: capture from the video of the match on YouTube

After ten rounds without a single win, bottom of the table 1. FK Svidník succeeded an unexpected first win this season against one of the main favourites for promotion, ŠK Odeva Lipany. Truth be told, the visitors dominated most of the match, had plenty of chances, but it was not their day.

The game even started with a series of opportunities, missed incredibly by Lipany forwards, two of them involving either the ball hitting the side post or the crossbar, the second one from very close range, in a position where it is more difficult to miss than to score. After the first ten minutes however, the home side began to balance the game, and to show some character offensively, especially on counterattack. The visitors still had the biggest chances, but 1. FK Svidník looked dangerous in some moments.

And the decisive moment of the game came in the 34th minute, exactly after Odeva Lipany missed another clear opportunity. 1. FK Svidník launched a counterattack, Oliver Reiter passed to Marek Vasil', who only stopped in the opposite box, on the left, to move the ball for the right foot, and his shot went straight to the upper corner, hitting the target: 1-0 (34').

In the second half, the visitors attacked continuously. After a throw from the right side, the ball landed on Oliver Reiter's hand in the box, and the referee awarded a penalty. Nevertheless, Mário Jacko's shot was weak and low, and Anton Dzupina saved (50'). This was another important psychological moment of the match, when Odeva Lipany players lost confidence that they can win the game. Despite this, a few minutes later they received some help, when Matúš Lukčo was sent off, after receiving a second yellow card for a useless foul in midfield (56').

Down to ten men, 1. FK Svidník resorted to an aggresive defense, in front of a team, Odeva Lipany, unable to break through. Goalkeeper Anton Dzupina became one of the heroes of the game, saving and blocking everything that went beyond the two defensive lines. Even in stoppage time, the visitors had two big chances to equalize, one after the other (90'+2'). 

Immediately after these chances, tensions erupted near Anton Dzupina's goal. Several players pushed each other and probably said things to each other. The referee awarded several yellow cards, but also a straight red card for Svidník's only foreign player in this game, Pablo Dos Santos (90'+3').

Even with two men less, 1. FK Svidník resisted up until the final whistle, winning their first game this season.

Svidník: Dzupina - Dos Santos, Grejták, Lukčo, Balica - Fedor, Pončák, Leško - Palaj (Gajdoš 85'), Reiter, Vasil'. Manager: Tomáš Suslo.

Lipany: Bartoš - Jacko, Poremba (Vranko 46'), Dlugoš, Kamenec (M. Kral'ovič 75'), Kovalčík, Ma. Vysočan (Mi. Vysočan 75'), Micherda, Shliakhov, S. Kral'ovič, Vitovič. Manager: Štefan Mihalík.

Referee: Peter Židišin.

Yellow cards: Lukčo 19', 56', Grejták 44', Dos Santos 78', Fedor 80', Janošík 88' (off the field), Dzupina 90'+3' - Jacko 27', S. Kral'ovič 90'+3', Micherda 90'+3', Vitovič 90'+3'.

Red cards: Lukčo 56', Dos Santos 90'+3'.

In the next round, which have started today, 1. FK Svidník drew 3-3 away at MFK Vranov, after leading 3-0. It is the fourth consecutive game in which they are unbeaten, and this is quite an achievement given the strength of the opponents. ŠK Odeva Lipany won 3-0 at home over FTC Fil'akovo.

Full results, table and fixtures:

 

Round 10 (7-8 October 2023)

 

ŠK Odeva Lipany – Slávia TU Košice 2-1

Stará Ľubovňa Redfox FC – FTC Fiľakovo 4-2

MFK Vranov nad Topľou – Partizán Bardejov BŠK 6-0

MŠK Spišské Podhradie – MŠK Novohrad Lučenec 3-0

TJ Tatran Oravské Veselé – 1. FK Svidník 0-0

MFK Snina – MŠK Tesla Stropkov 0-4

MŠK Rimavská Sobota – MŠK Námestovo 1-0

TJ Baník Kalinovo bye

 

Round 11 (14-15 October 2023)

 

MŠK Námestovo – MŠK Spišské Podhradie 3-2

Partizán Bardejov BŠK – MFK Snina 1-1

Slávia TU Košice – MFK Vranov nad Topl’ou 1-1

TJ Baník Kalinovo – Stará Ľubovňa Redfox FC 2-1

FTC Fiľakovo – TJ Tatran Oravské Veselé 2-1

1. FK Svidník – ŠK Odeva Lipany 1-0

MŠK Tesla Stropkov – MŠK Rimavská Sobota 2-1

MŠK Novohrad Lučenec bye

 

Round 12 (21-22 October 2023)

 

ŠK Odeva Lipany – FTC Fiľakovo 3-0

MFK Vranov nad Topľou – 1. FK Svidník 3-3

Stará Ľubovňa Redfox FC – MŠK Novohrad Lučenec 2-0

MŠK Námestovo – MŠK Tesla Stropkov 1-1

TJ Tatran Oravské Veselé – TJ Baník Kalinovo to be played on 22 October

MFK Snina – Slávia TU Košice to be played on 22 October

MŠK Rimavská Sobota – Partizán Bardejov BŠK to be played on 22 October

MŠK Spišské Podhradie bye

 

Table

 

1	MŠK Tesla Stropkov	11	7	3	1	25-7	24	Promotion to 2. Liga
2	Stará Ľubovňa Redfox FC	12	6	2	4	20-19	20
3	MŠK Rimavská Sobota	10	5	3	2	13-9	18
4	FTC Fiľakovo	11	5	2	4	15-16	17
5	MFK Snina	10	4	4	2	20-19	16
6	ŠK Odeva Lipany	11	5	1	5	20-17	16
7	Slávia TU Košice	10	4	3	3	18-13	15
8	MFK Vranov nad Topl’ou	11	4	3	4	27-23	15
9	MŠK Námestovo	10	4	2	4	18-13	14
10	MŠK Spišské Podhradie	11	3	3	5	19-21	12
11	MŠK Novohrad Lučenec	11	3	3	5	10-19	12
12	TJ Baník Kalinovo	10	4	0	6	16-19	12
13	TJ Tatran Oravské Veselé	10	3	2	5	10-17	11
14	Partizán Bardejov BŠK	9	2	3	4	15-23	9	Possible relegation to 4. Liga
15	1. FK Svidník	11	1	4	6	12-23	7	Relegation to 4. Liga

 

In case that two or more teams are equal on points, the main ranking criteria are the results of the head-to-head matches.

 

Round 13 (28-29 October 2023)

 

MŠK Novohrad Lučenec – TJ Tatran Oravské Veselé

Partizán Bardejov BŠK – MŠK Námestovo

Slávia TU Košice – MŠK Rimavská Sobota

1. FK Svidník – MFK Snina

TJ Baník Kalinovo – ŠK Odeva Lipany

MŠK Tesla Stropkov – MŠK Spišské Podhradie

FTC Fiľakovo – MFK Vranov nad Topl’ou

Stará Ľubovňa Redfox FC bye