2024-04-14 06:07:33
Michal Řepík’s completely useless and pointless foul at the end of the fourth game between Třinec and Sparta was one of the key moments that started to tip the scales in the Steelers’ side in the semi-final series. Patrik Hrehorčák’s slash earned him not only a penalty until the end of the fourth duel, but also a two-match stoppage.
The experienced striker was absent, and as he admitted today after the elimination in an interview with journalists, he chose the wrong moment for the short.
The 35-year-old captain of the coach Pavel Gross’ team returned to the lineup for the decisive seventh game for everything. In front of almost 17,000 spectators in the auditorium of Prague’s O2 arena, he was seen a lot. It was obvious how much he wanted to atone for his transgression, by which he significantly weakened the team. And he was very close to doing it in the best possible way. In the 85th minute, he could have decided, but the great catcher Ondřej Kacetl was against and prevented the Steelers from being eliminated.
Instead of happy moments and reflections on the final battle with Pardubice, the disappointed Řepík had to answer whether he blames himself for the offense from the fourth match. “I don’t know if the matches would have been different, but I won’t hide. It’s never happened to me. And now, at the wrong moment, such a short circuit came from me. The suspension for two matches did not help the team, even though the boys played well,” said Řepík.
He regretted that he didn’t manage to finish in the open goal a little better in the mentioned big opportunity, so that Kacetl didn’t reach the puck. This is how he managed to move and squeeze out the disc with a punch. It was probably the most significant chance in the almost 62-minute extra time. “We went there two on one. Unfortunately, I didn’t lift it under the crossbar and the goalkeeper just had to move. I didn’t really see the goal, I wanted to put it as close to the post as possible, but unfortunately he caught it,” described Řepík.
There was no need for an extension. Sparta led 2:1 and needed to play the last two minutes of regular time without a mistake. But Vojtěch Mozík’s seemingly unnecessary tripping came. “I didn’t see it at all, but I can’t moralize anyone after what I did. That wasn’t good either and it affected the series. Everyone tries to do their best, mistakes are part of that,” said Řepík.
Mozík headed to the penalty bench at 58:11, Marko Daňo equalized 54 seconds later. The people of Prague caught a difficult direct. All the more so when, in the previous duel on the opponent’s ice, they lost a win just two-tenths of a second before the end of regular time. It showed on the ice. Especially in the opening minutes of the first overtime.
“I guess it took its toll on us. We thought we wanted to go into overtime well, but when something like that happens twice in a row… We didn’t feel good, we were afraid to play. We were yelled at for almost the entire first overtime. Then we got up and created enough opportunities to end it,” recounted Řepík.
He did not want to speculate about how much the end of the previous match had eroded the team. “I don’t think it was the turning point of the whole series, we were still determined. We went in and wanted to win. But in those matches we weren’t able to bounce back from them more. We had enough chances and unfortunately we didn’t give them away… That conclusion is bitter, emptiness. We really wanted to go to the finals and progress was close,” Řepík despaired.
Miloš Roman’s decisive strike from the stick in the 122nd minute was a shock for his team. This defeat was extremely painful. Forward Jan Jan Buchtele, who is saying goodbye to Sparta after eleven years, could hardly hold back tears on the ice. “These things are terribly difficult. He was here for almost his entire career. It would be nicer to say goodbye with a victory. It’s a huge shame. Two tenths… We didn’t cash in today so close to the end, but it was almost like going through a photocopier,” Řepík regretted.