2024-04-29 05:14:39
In the course of the year, Marek Zadina was promoted from assistant coach to the position of head coach of Pardubice hockey players when he took over Dynamo in mid-January after Václav Varaď was dismissed. In the end, Pardubice finished just below the top when they lost to Třínec in the second overtime in the seventh match of the final.
“The boys were prepared for the seventh match, they played very good hockey, they fought and wanted to win. We had a lot of pressure, but unfortunately we didn’t convert the chances and didn’t score the extra goal. That’s why Třinec has the title and I want to congratulate him,” Zadina told journalists after the last battle of the extraleague season.
The Steelers were leading in the key match, but at the end of the second period, Pardubice defender Ondřej Vála equalized. Coach Zadina changed the composition of the attacking formations, but Dynamo did not take any more chances.
“In the last game of the season, you have nothing to wait for. You put players there who have form. Those who you think are capable of pushing the opponent and scoring a goal,” said Zadina. “I believed we would win. We were missing a piece of the mosaic,” he added.
His team was driven by the sold-out Pardubice arena, the 1:1 draw should also have played in Dynamo’s favor. “We believed that from that moment the match would turn in our favor. I have to praise the boys. They were excellently prepared, they wanted the whole match, they worked hard from the first to the last substitution. There is nothing to criticize the team,” said Zadina.
Třinec waited for his chance and struck in the 84th minute. “They play simple hockey and still stick to their game. They get pucks out of their own third, wait for a chance and then convert it,” Zadina pointed out. The home team didn’t even try to challenge the coach after David Cienciala’s intervention.
“We had information from our people that it was a regular goal. There was no point in taking a video,” stated the coach from Pardubice, although the successful shooter ended up in the goal himself.
Last year, Pardubice lost to Třinec in the semi-finals, now the same opponent stopped them just below the top. The same thing happened after the Steelers won in the seventh game in the east of Bohemia. “It will be a lesson for the next season and we will be stronger. Last year we were third, this year second. We will see where we will be next year,” said Zadina.
After the match, he received the silver medal, and the Steelers subsequently received the Masaryk Cup. “I’m disappointed and I know what that means. I just feel sorry for our guys. They had a great season, they made it this far, but in the end we didn’t pull it off. I thanked the players in the cabin, we’re proud of them. They had a great season and the playoffs. I know it hurts now, but it will get better,” Zadina believed.
He will need even more space for deeper analysis. A greater contribution was perhaps expected from, for example, the first attacking formation with captain Lukáš Sedlák. “It was very difficult for the boys, they were well defended. It takes some time for me to evaluate everything and make a deeper analysis,” noted Zadina.
Ideas for the new season will appear gradually. When he wants to let them into his head. “There was an awful lot, it was emotional. I need to rest, I’ll take a break,” concluded the fifty-two-year-old coach.