Vítkovice extended their winning streak against former coach Václav Varaďa’s previous teams Thursday night, defeating Trinec 3-2 in a tightly contested derby match. The victory marks Varaďa’s seventh consecutive win against his former employers, Trinec and Pardubice, and boosts Vítkovice into sixth place in the league standings.
Varaďa, who previously coached both Trinec and Pardubice, downplayed his role in the success, attributing it to his players’ performance.
Václav Varaďa
|
Foto: Petr Kotala, hc-vitkovice.cz
Václav Varaďa continues to find remarkable success against his former teams, boasting a perfect 7-0 record against Trinec and Pardubice. He extended that dominance Thursday in a thrilling derby matchup, leading Vítkovice to a 3-2 victory over their regional rivals.
“I didn’t win those games – the guys did,” the Vítkovice head coach emphasized in the post-game press conference. “We, as coaches, help them, but they are the ones who play.”
Varaďa previously secured two wins against Trinec while with Pardubice during the 2023/24 season. Since joining Vítkovice, he’s celebrated three victories in the Steel Derby, and added two more against Dynamo Pardubice, a team he left on less-than-ideal terms.
“Of course, I’m happy with the win, but I wish we were winning against teams I hadn’t played for too. It would be nice if someone else was paying out as well.”
The matches against former employers also come with pre-arranged bonuses for the locker room. “I’m not a big fan of that, but I have to face it,” Varaďa explained. “We always put something in the pot with coach Krátoška, after all, we spent some time in Trinec.”
“Of course, I’m happy with the win, but I wish we were winning against teams I hadn’t played for too. It would be nice if someone else was paying out as well,” he added with a smile.
His players earned the result with a hard-fought 3-2 win against their rivals, and Varaďa was able to enjoy the moment. “We’re glad we were able to score when we needed to. We value the three points and move on.”
The victory lifts Vítkovice to sixth place in the standings, and they’ll face another of Varaďa’s former clubs – Pardubice – on Sunday in Ostravar Arena. Pardubice are hot on the heels of league-leading Trinec, trailing by just one point after their win over Karlovy Vary.
“We need to clear our heads, because the head is a swine. We have to start doing simple things – fighting spirit, self-sacrifice… What defined us when we were winning.”
“While I don’t want to diminish the performance of the home team, only the third period from our side is comparable. We created pressure and chances, but unfortunately we didn’t get the tying goal,” lamented Trinec coach Zdeněk Moták.
Oceláři outshot their opponents 16-6 in the third period, but couldn’t beat
Patrik Zdráhal
útočník, 30 let
” href=”https://www.hokej.cz/hrac/patrik-zdrahal/14150″>Patrik Zdráhal in net, with the game-winning goal ultimately standing.
