Prešov celebrate fourth triumph in Slovak Cup, as Svidník lose fourth final
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The club season in Slovakia culminated with the final stage of the men’s national cup held in Nitra earlier this week. In the semi-finals, Mirad Unipo PREŠOV claimed a 3-0 (26-24, 28-26, 25-19) victory over Spartak MYJAVA and Slávia SVIDNÍK secured the other ticket to the final after winning 3-1 (25-22, 21-25, 25-16, 25-18) over KDS šport KOŠICE. In a dramatic final, a derby between two teams from the eastern region of the country, the players of Prešov eventually emerged victorious by 3-2 (25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 13-25, 16-14) to lift the trophy for the fourth time in the club history.
Prešov dominated the match in the first two sets, but Svidník's players refused to give up, levelled the set score to 2-2 and even had a match point in the tiebreak (14-13). However, Prešov turned the score around before captain and club legend Martin Sopko secured the decisive point.
Martin Sopko“To put it lightly, we had to make it dramatic a bit. If we had won 3-0, we would not have felt such strong emotions now. To put it lightly, we had to make it dramatic a bit. If we had won 3-0, we would not have felt such strong emotions now. The tiebreak was the best climax imaginable; no one knew who would win until the final point. I am very pleased that luck was on our side because the match was very difficult at the end.”
Outside hitter of Mirad UNIPO PREŠOV, four-time EuroVolley participant and two-time winner of the European League (MVP in 2008)
After the finals, Marek Kardoš, the head coach of Prešov, was elated: “We are very happy that we crowned the season with a victory in the Cup after losing the semi-finals of the league, the people in our club deserved it. After the first two sets, Svidník started to play very well and we had to put everything right. It was the best possible final for the spectators.” In May, Kardoš will lead the Slovak men’s national team as the head coach in the qualification for EuroVolley 2021.
Svidník had lost the Cup final last year and had the same experience in the 2012 and 2018 editions as well. “We wanted to win the Cup very much. We were able to turn the game around, especially since some more experienced players raised the morale. In the end, we lost, but I am proud of my players. We were so close, even had a match point. Volleyball is beautiful in that even if you are close, you are still very far until you get the very last point,” said the head coach of Svidník, Peter Tholt.
The Polish opposite of Prešov Lukasz Szarek was the top scorer of the final match with 24 points. The outside hitter Michal Petráš, who played for German powerhouse VfB FRIEDRICHSHAFEN in the 2018-2019 season (coached by Vital Heynen), scored 23 points (including eight aces) for Svidník. The trophy for the MVP of the final match went to former Slovak international player Ľuboš Macko, Prešov's middle blocker, who scored 16 points and as many as nine blocks.
The final stage of the national cup competition took place in the city of Nitra for the first time in five years. Since last year, the trophy carries the name of legendary player Štefan Pipa, captain of CEV Champions Cup winner ČH BRATISLAVA in 1979 and a member of the Slovakian Hall of Fame - who prematurely passed away in September 2019.