Victory no stroll for Viktoria

SP Domagnano 0-2 FK Viktoria Zizkov

High-ball tactic
The Czech visitors dominated possession, pinning Domagnano back in their own half for long spells. However, Viktoria were unable to put their hosts under concerted pressure, with their high-ball tactic often coming to grief against a resolute defence.

Stalemate broken
Viktoria broke the stalemate in the 27th minute, courtesy of some fine individual play by Jirí Sabou. Receiving a pass outside the penalty box, he dribbled past Simone Baciocchi before rushing into the box and beating goalkeeper Loris Martinini, who rushed out of his goal in an attempt to save, only to be beaten by a diagonal shot.

Fine volley
It took the Czechs until the 80th minute to pull further ahead. Following a corner, the ball was headed out of the penalty box by the Domagnano defence. However, Ludek Straceny collected the clearance and hammered a fierce 20-yard shot past Martinini, a goal which even earned him an ovation from the home support.

Poor quality
Overall, the match was of poor quality, and individual skill was at a premium. When the San Marino side pushed forward through Giacomo Fambri, Enea Zucchi and Nicola Baciocchi, their efforts were limited to long-range shots which failed to trouble Pavel Kucera in the Viktoria goal.

'We played well'
Domagnano coach Sereno Uraldi said: "I am fully satisfied with the result, in particular when looking at both halves. My players played well, and were convincing in particular from a physical point of view, because we kept pace with our opponents throughout the 90 minutes."

Negative point
"The only negative point I would highlight is the fact that we were only able to create three dangerous moments,” he added. "However, I can be happy with the performance of my players who are, I have to underline, pure amateurs. For the second-leg match, although we do not know yet whether it can be played in Prague due to the flooding, I hope we will be able to repeat this same good performance."