Slovakia round-up: Zilina leave it late

1. Liga leaders MŠK Zilina maintained their 13-point lead at the top of the Slovakian first division today thanks to a last-gasp victory at home to FC Artmedia Petrzalka.

Red card
The visitors had come to defend but their plans were hit by Michal Kubala's dismissal after he felled Dusan Sninsky in the box in the 13th minute, allowing Marek Mintál to score from the penalty-spot. Petrzalka pulled level midway through the second-half when Mauricio Ratto headed in Eric Hrncár's free-kick, but in the dying moments Miroslav Nemec headed a winner for Zilina after a mistake by goalkeeper Martin Lipcák.

Everyone's a winner
It was just as well Zilina won as the three teams below them all kept up the pressure with just seven games left. AŠK Inter Bratislava, last season's double winners, strolled to a 3-0 victory over struggling FC Tatran Prešov, who never looked like troubling them.

Off the mark
Juraj Halenar put Inter ahead seven minutes before the interval, and Juraj Czinege pounced on a rebound to double their advantage in the 54th-minute. Augustin Pavlik made certain of the win with his first league goal of the season three minutes later.

Zofcak strike
MŠK Ruzomberok remain level on points with Inter after beating ŠK Slovan Bratislava 1-0 thanks to Igor Zofcak's well-taken 28th-minute winner. ŠKM Puchov are just behind Ruzomberok by virtue of having scored one less goal, earning an away win against FK Dukla Trencín.

Counterattack
Trencín had dominated proceedings before the visitors nicked a couple of goals against the run of play just before half-time. Jozef Muzaly scored the first after 41 minutes following a swift counterattack, and three minutes later Juraj Skripec added a second. Trencín pulled one back through Martin Fabus's header just after the hour, but it was less than their superiority had deserved.

Last gasp
At the bottom of the table, 1. FC Košice grabbed a valuable win at home to FK ZTS Dubnica thanks to Radoslav Zábavník's 87th-minute goal. The win cut the gap between Košice and Tatran to four points, with Dubnica themselves just a point further in front.