Most Baltic footballers playing in the Czech top flight concluded their seasons on Saturday, with the biggest drama unfolding in the relegation battle. Without Latvian goalkeeper Rihards Matrevics in the squad, FK Dukla Prague were relegated from the Czech top division after suffering a heavy 0-3 defeat against Estonian international Vlasiy Sinyavskiy and FC Banik Ostrava in the decisive match of the season.
The 29-year-old Sinyavskiy started for Ostrava and played 87 minutes in the crucial victory, which allowed Banik to avoid automatic relegation and keep their survival hopes alive through the promotion/relegation playoff. Dukla, meanwhile, finished in the relegation spot after the defeat. Interestingly, all three goals in the match came from Dukla players putting the ball into their own net.
Both sides entered the match level on points, making it effectively a relegation final. Sinyavskiy completed his first season with Ostrava after joining the club during the winter transfer window following half a season with Bohemians Praha 1905. Across the season, the Estonian winger made 28 Czech league appearances, recording four assists, with nine of those matches coming for Ostrava.
For Matrevics, the campaign ended on a disappointing note. The Latvian goalkeeper has not appeared in Dukla’s matchday squad since mid-April after losing his starting role following a coaching change. Overall, the 26-year-old made 18 league appearances this season, keeping four clean sheets.
Elsewhere, Latvian midfielder Kristers Penkevics finished the season with 45 minutes for FC Zlun in their 1-0 win over 1. FC Slovacko. The 23-year-old, who joined Zlín in January, came on at halftime and ended the season with nine appearances for the club.
Young Lithuanian defender Nojus Audinis was again absent from the FK Teplice squad as they closed the season with a 2-0 victory over FK Mlada Boleslav. The 20-year-old defender, a product of the FA Šiauliai academy, finished his first season with Teplice’s senior side having played 24 matches and contributing one assist.
The season also ended for Lithuanian winger Artūr Dolžnikov and SK Sigma Olomouc, who secured seventh place in the Czech league after defeating MFK Karvina 4-0 and winning the two-legged series 7-1 on aggregate. The 25-year-old Lithuanian, who has not featured for the first team since the Conference League playoff against 1. FSV Mainz 05 in March, remained on the bench for the final match.
Dolžnikov ended the season with 11 league appearances, scoring one goal and adding one assist.
Source: http://en.chanceliga.cz/
