Žilina lose patience with Pezce

Following a slow start to the new Slovakian Superleague season and elimination from the UEFA Cup, last season's runners-up MŠK Žilina have sacked coach Karol Pecze. The change brought immediate reward, although FC Spartak Trnava still lead the way in the standings.

Consecutive victories
Žilina lost three of their first six Superleague games and were knocked out the UEFA Cup by FK Austria Wien, which prompted Pecze to be temporarily replaced by his assistant Milan Nemec, who got off to the best possible start with two wins out of two. Žilina have sprung back up to second in the table, increasing Nemec's hopes of taking the post on a permanent basis. He is Žilina's eighth coach in the last four seasons.

Blistering start
Spartak Trnava lead the way presently with seven wins from eight attempts under the guidance of former Czechoslovakian international striker Jozef Adamec, who scored 170 goals in domestic football. The leaders have conceded just two goals while scoring 14, surging into a six-point lead over Žilina and MFK Ružomberok. Spartak Trnava have attracted crowds close to their 18,448 capacity, and a full house is expected for the visit of Žilina on Saturday.

Artmedia reinforcements
FC Artmedia Bratislava continued to augment their squad before making their UEFA Champions League group stage debut in a section that also includes FC Internazionale Milano, Rangers FC and FC Porto. Two Czech players arrived ahead of the 31 August transfer deadline; striker Lukáš Hartig joined from Zenit St. Petersburg and marked his debut with a goal against FK AS Trencín, while midfield player Aleš Urbánek played 85 minutes in the same game after his move from FC Spartak Moskva.

Ružomberok resurgence
Exhausted by their Champions League exploits, Artmedia have yet to hit top gear in the domestic championship, and lie fifth in the table after eight matches. Ružomberok and striker Jan Nezmar are starting to repay the faith shown in them by coach František Komnacký. Nezmar has now scored five goals, and Ružomberok have now suffered just one loss in their last six games.

Bottom three strugglers
Trencín have started the season playing on a synthetic pitch and will be happy to get back on to grass after a slow start that sees them third from bottom. Trencín, FK ZTS Dubnica and FK Púchov between them have four fewer points than Trnava alone, and risk being cut adrift at the bottom of the table.