Viktoria Plzeň lost 0:1 to Sparta at Letná and their MOL Cup journey ends in the semi-finals. At the post-match press conference, assistant coach Jan Trousil answered questions from journalists.

How was today´s game different than the previous one, when you had more of the game and more chances?

I think the image of the game today was the opposite of the league game. Then we started badly, we were under pressure for the first 15 minutes, but we were helped by the equalizer at 1:1, which got us into the game, we started to be dangerous and finally we managed to win the game. Today we were more active until about the 17th minute, Sparta resorted to long balls, which our players managed to handle. The turning point came when we let the opponent pass on the side, the centre came and Zelený got the finish. Right after the ball was played, the second goal fell, which was not valid thanks to the intervention of VAR, otherwise we would have lost by two goals.

But from that moment on, we finished the first half in such spasm. The second half was more even, but we lacked more focus in the end. Instead of shooting, we often opted for one-touch combinations that led to nothing. That was something we lacked compared to the previous game. There, we simply crossed their defensive line, but today Sparta was ready for that and didn´t let us get into those situations.

What does it mean to you that you didn´t advance?

For us, it means we´ve lost the chance to win the trophy. We went into the game with the goal of succeeding. Sparta had home advantage, they took advantage of it and advanced to the final. We´re sorry, but now we have to focus on the rest of the season. There are five rounds left and we want to achieve the best possible results. We play Sparta at home again on Sunday, so we have a chance to get back at them. Our priority is to keep second place. We have to put what happened today behind us, although we are obviously sorry. We wanted to beat Sparta more and take home the win.

What would you like to change for Sunday´s game?

We need to be more dangerous in the end. If we want to win, and we do, we have to score goals. I believe we will be more confident at home because we will have our great fans behind us. We want to transfer the energy that Sparta had today to our side on Sunday. Now we have three days to recover and then we have to concentrate 100% on Sunday´s game. We will show our mistakes from today, but the main thing is to learn from them and be ready.

Was the substitution of Václav Jemelka a tactical decision because of the yellow card?

Yes, we talked about it with Vasek at half-time. After the yellow card, there were several situations where the atmosphere in the stadium could have influenced the referee to give him a second one. We didn´t want to risk it, so we decided to substitute him. Honza Paluska came on and I think he did very well.