Oulehl’s debut was a success. The first team beat a tenacious Kladno side in the final minute

Our footballers kicked off the new Chance National League season with a win. However, the first team only managed to break down the tenacious newcomers from Kladno right at the very end — Franck Idumbo sealed the 2–1 victory with a superb strike into the post.

It was hard work. The North Bohemians had to work harder than they might have expected. Nevertheless, coach David Oulehla, who made his competitive debut on our bench, knew exactly what to prepare for. “Those opening matches tend to be tricky. Everyone thinks a newcomer is coming, so they expect you to win 4–0, but football isn’t that simple,” he said.

Viagem had the upper hand from the start. The first twenty minutes were good, and at one point we even cleared the ball off the line from an empty net. “That was practically a goal, and if it had gone in, it would have helped us a lot,” said Oulehla, lamenting the missed chance.

Instead of taking the lead, however, we were dealt a blow. In the 24th minute, we made a mistake, which Idumbo capitalised on by pushing a player over in the box — the resulting penalty was converted by the visitors’ Jurčenko, and we were left playing catch-up. Before the break, however, David Černý equalised with a superb header, and the 1–1 half-time score settled the team’s nerves. “Fortunately, we equalised before half-time; I see that as the key moment. At half-time, you could sense that we were going to go for the win,” said the manager.

After the break, Ústí survived a shot that hit the post, and the decisive moment didn’t come until the 89th minute. It was Franck Idumbo who made amends for his earlier penalty miss, securing three hard-fought points with a superb strike into the corner. We scored the winning goal from a set-piece, something we work on a lot in training.

“In the second half, we tried to link up well, but the opposition caused us a lot of trouble on the counter-attack – something we knew was their greatest strength. The second key moment was that shot against the post – if it had gone in and made it 1–2, it would have been very difficult. Thank goodness we weathered that, kept pushing, and just as it looked like a draw, we broke the deadlock from a set-piece,” said Oulehla. “We’re pleased with the win, but we certainly have plenty of room for improvement,” he added in conclusion.

Chance National League, Round 1: FK Viagem Ústí nad Labem – SK Kladno 2–1 (1–1)

Goals: 43’ D. Černý, 89’ Idumbo – 24’ Jurčenko (pen.). Referee: Haberman – Rosický, Bělák. Yellow cards: 4–2. Attendance: 1,819.

Viagem line-up: Holý – Yaméogo, Peterka (C), Březina – Ullman (74’ Goj), Kott, D. Richter (80. Osaghae), Idumbo – D. Černý (63. Fantiš), Moulis (80. Bzura) – Do Marcolino (74. Diarra).