“They expected a rough game”: what they said after the defeat of Russia from the Czech Republic at the MFM

“The guys in the locker room are sitting extinct, dissatisfied”

The world hockey championship started badly for the youth team. In the opening match, she lost to the Czech team - 3: 4. At the same time, the game turned out to be very aggressive, and the domestic team earned 26 penalty minutes. It is not surprising that the head coach Valery Bragin after the meeting complained about the lack of discipline.

“Defeat is defeat. Of course, the guys in the locker room are sitting extinct, unhappy. They supported them. First game, still to come. Last year, the Czechs got a completely different game, they acted with advantage. Today, in terms of the number of shots and dangerous moments, we surpassed the opponent. With a score of 2: 2, they had three hundred percent moments, it was necessary to implement them. We did not abandon, but they immediately scored in a counterattack, ”the specialist summed up.

Bragin also answered the question about his possible departure from the youth team in the absence of a result.

“What is the point now to talk about it? In the next game, you need more aggression, you need to work on the shots. We disassembled Chekhov, this team should not be given the lead. They close, play very well on the defensive. Need to throw more and work on the nickle. It doesn’t really matter who you meet in the quarterfinals. One game can turn out unpredictably, ”the coach added.

In turn, his counterpart Vaclav Varada talked about the condition of striker Jakub Lauko, who received a knee injury in the first minute. According to the coach, Yegor Sokolov in this situation did not want to harm his ward.

“I reviewed the episode with Lauko’s injury several times, I don’t think there was a violation. He has knee ligament damage. According to preliminary forecasts, Yakub will not be able to play in the tournament, but tomorrow he will have an MRI, let's see how serious this is. The match was nervous for both teams. We had a difficult start, even though we scored two goals. The first 10 minutes were difficult for us, the Russian team played well. They acted "in the body", we also tried to wage a power struggle. We know that they have quality players who are able to make a result, ”said Varada.

“The Czechs showed nothing special”

In turn, the hockey players of the Russian national team did not remain silent after the match, but expressed themselves rather self-critically. Not without discussion of the work of judges. In particular, this topic was raised by Vasily Podkolzin, who scored the first goal for himself at the MFM.

“We play in the Czech Republic. I think this is always the case. It was expected, we were preparing for it. Naturally, there were stupid deletions: go-ahead and the like. Czechs have been playing like this all their lives. Nothing, we will prepare further. Opponent did not surprise either the game or the atmosphere. The first goal at the MFM - of course, this is important for both himself and the team. Everything went quickly, especially did not pay attention to it. The puck bounced off empty - it hit, ”the striker said.

In turn, the author of the double as part of the Russian national team, Yegor Zamula, called the removal of the team in the match with the Czech Republic “dumb”.

“Czechs - well done, realized the majority at the right time and abandoned it. I think we had too much energy. A big role was played by the fans who shouted and jumped. We felt a slight annoyance on the bench, tried to return to the game, but failed. They were retiring, some kind of stupid running boards were walking, ”Zamula admitted.

At the same time, he emphasized that the Russian team on Thursday was completely different from itself.

“I can say that today the Czechs showed nothing special except for the implementation of the majority. We had a plan, but failed to implement it. Let's work on the bugs. It seems that today not our team played. There was no pressure on the goal, shots. We rode somewhere in the corners, invented something when it was necessary to throw and load the goalkeeper. He’s not smart, he doesn’t catch a trap, he had to be thrown to him, ”Zamula added.

Could not help asking about the injury of Lauko and the Russians. In particular, Alexander Romanov emphasized that the Czech was simply unlucky.

“In the first shift he went on the ice and was injured. This did not affect the course of the match. What to say about judges? After the fight, they don’t wave their fists. Yaroslav Askarov was encouraged, of course. Nothing wrong. It is difficult to blame the goalkeeper for the conceded goals. He did not "flog" today. The team lost - it means everyone is to blame. And blame someone alone ... It is immediately swept away. Last year, Canada also played in a crowd that was sick against us. It was the same here, ”said Romanov.

Sokolov himself, who inflicted damage to Lauko, also assured that he did not want this at all.

“Basically, I did nothing. He raised the club from behind, did not try to injure him, and in general never intends to do so. This is hockey. I wish Lauko a speedy recovery and I hope that he will be fine. If I saw him now, I would apologize. But, again, I intentionally did nothing, he just fell unsuccessfully. Bad start? We did not realize our moments, but the Czechs scored. We need to be cool somewhere, raise our heads somewhere for transmission. We will prepare for the next games, we have everything ahead, this is only the beginning of the tournament. Provocations from the Czechs? They always play like that, and apparently it helped them today, ”Sokolov noted.

“With Russia, every match is very difficult and tough”

Enough loud statements from the Czech side. So, striker Jan Enik said that the teams hate each other.

“Did the Russian player deserve removal in the episode with Lauko’s injury?” I did not see this moment, I can not say anything. I would like to note the atmosphere in the stands, it was excellent. I hope the next match will be just as noisy and fun. I am happy that we were able to do our job better and win. Did we know how to play against Askarov? Yes, we had some statistical printouts. They knew that he often missed from the side of the trap, and threw it there. Did we expect such a tough and rough game? Yes. With Russia, every match is very difficult and tough. The teams hate each other, ”said Enik.

In turn, defender Libor Zabranski admitted that the Czechs tried to act as hard as possible.

“This is a very important victory for us, because the first match is always of particular importance. But this is a very strong opponent. Lauco's loss? This is a game, there's nothing to be done, injuries are part of it. Of course, the loss of leaders is not what I want to see, but we fought in this match, and for him, in particular, we won this meeting for Lauko. Removal from the Russians? Questions to the judges, this is not my job. I can’t say that we got angrier after Lauko’s injury. Did we expect a tough, somewhere dirty game? Yes. It is always very difficult to play with Russia, this is a very good team, ”summed up Zabranski.