Viktoria Plzeň defeated Sparta Prague 2:0 in the first round. At the post-match press conference, head coach Miroslav Koubek answered questions from journalists.

Coach, you beat Sparta for the third time this season, which is something that very few people manage to do, and that´s after a diametrically different performance compared to Wednesday´s game.

We appreciate it. It´s nine points. We´re now six points ahead of Sparta. These three wins are very important in this math. The performance was great, diametrically different from Wednesday, I agree.

How important a player was Prince Adu, whom you gave confidence in the line-up today and he reciprocated with a great performance?

First of all, I want to say that he has finally recovered and has been able to train more. He was affected by long-term problems, he was not 100% fit and that was reflected in his performance. When he had these problems, you could see that it was taking away from his performance, so we gave him the space to stabilise and train, which has improved recently. His form has gone up, so there was no reason not to put him in. Based on the analysis of the Sparta game, we chose a different typology of players than, for example, Rafiu Durosinmi. We put three fast players on the spike, which turned out to be the right move and Prince Adu continued his performances he showed when he came to Plzeň.

Was the team´s reaction to Wednesday´s defeat the biggest joy for you?

We certainly analysed the game thoroughly. I watched it three times myself. We made the conclusions we needed to make. The first step was to improve the physical part of the game - intensity, aggression and pressing. If we had repeated the performance from Wednesday, we wouldn´t have had a chance. We were specific with the video and sometimes we were emphatic. Another factor that helped us was the change in formation, based on the analysis of Sparta´s play and Wednesday´s game. We disrupted their distribution with three spikes. The typology of Prince Adua, as a fast, technical and unpredictable player, played in our favour. I think it caught our opponents off guard.

You used to use a classic three-man tracking lineup, but now you´ve chosen a different one.

Marković is struggling with long-term problems that limit him, although they don´t prevent him from starting the game. Václav Jemelka had problems after a clash with Drchal in the Bohemia Cup, but he returned after a short break. In the Cup we wanted to put together our strong trio that has played all year and Europe, but if players are not 100% fit it affects their performances. After assessing the situation, we agreed that Marko would stay out of the game and recover. Václav played well, but after his return it wasn´t quite the same performance. That´s why Milan Havel and Jan Paluska were preferred. Both are quality, mobile stoppers who did well today.

Was it a dominant performance on your part, or would you have been happier with a bigger win?

Of course, the three points are crucial. A 2-0 result is great. If I was a maximalist, I would have seen more chances there. I have to praise goalkeeper Vindahl, who kept Sparta out several times. He´s scored at least three goals. We didn´t convert some chances, but also on the basis of his excellent performance. There could have been more goals, but in the end we scored two and we´ll take that. We are satisfied and it brought us three points.