Oulehl’s outburst in the dressing room: The coach was furious after a disastrous match, but there will be no fines

Coach David Oulehla’s anger didn’t stop at the press conference, where he hadn’t hesitated to use a few swear words earlier. As it turned out the following day, the players also got a proper telling-off from the coach right in the changing room, as shown in a video the club posted on its social media.

“That first half was the best half of my life. It should have been 6–0, the game wrapped up, and we’ve just thrown it away! We were on a roll, three points in the bag,” Oulehla raged in the video.

“Don’t even try telling me it was down to a change in formation or anything like that. It’s all about running, hard work, following through, and humility,” he continued to berate his players, who, according to his observations and the data analyses on his tablet, completely gave up in the second half and literally walked through it.

It seems they may have offended the football gods a little. Viagem squandered several other clear-cut chances in the first half alone, including by the scorers of both goals, Idumbo and Do Marcolino. Karma also took its toll for the home commentator’s bold remark following the goal that made it 3–0, when he declared that a rout was on the cards, without realising what trouble that sentence would bring upon him.

“What a thrashing, what a thrashing!” the Arsenal supporters’ stand chanted mockingly after the match, with the fans celebrating the point from a lost match almost as if it were a victory. Even Česká Lípa’s own club couldn’t resist a dig, posting on social media in response to the popular ‘meme’: ‘Greetings to the commentator from Ústí. For future reference, we advise counting your chickens only after the hunt.’

“There was a huge difference in work rate, fighting spirit and tackling – you can’t play in the Second Division without those things. Lípa outplayed us in that respect,” Oulehla also said at the press conference. “We need to find out why there was such a slump. It’s always a learning experience. I’m not the sort of manager who shifts the blame onto the players. First and foremost, I think about what I could have done differently,” he added, a sentiment the players also heard in the dressing room.

That is also why the players will avoid financial fines from the club’s management, which they faced, for example, after last year’s 2–7 thrashing in Vlašim. “There will certainly be no sanctions from the management. I’ve learnt not to interfere in this; I’ll leave any consequences to the sporting director,” club owner Přemysl Kubáň replied when asked by Deník. “Of course, we’re disappointed to have lost a match we were winning, but we want to turn this into something positive. We want to take the positives from the first half. That’s why we won’t be taking any action,” he added.

For Ústí fans, after that bitter eight-minute spell during which Viagem conceded all three goals, memories of the home match against Opava in the 2015/2016 season may well have come to mind. Back then, the North Bohemians were still leading 2–0 in the 85th minute; they even managed to respond to Kuzmanović’s goal when Martykán converted a penalty in the 90th minute to make it 3–1. Even then, however, Ústí failed to see the match through to a victory – in the 92nd and 93rd minutes, Simerský and Zbyněk Pospěch secured a 3–3 draw. At the time, Arma were top of the Second Division and had dropped points after four consecutive wins; Viagem, meanwhile, had won their previous two matches going into the fixture.

• Football, Chance National League, Round 3: FK Viagem Ústí nad Labem – FK Arsenal Česká Lípa 3–3 (3–0)
• Goals: 14’ Idumbo, 31’ Idumbo, 37’ Do Marcolino – 73’ L. Dufek, 77’ Goj (own goal), 81’ Vostřel
• Referee: Starý. Yellow cards: 2:4. Attendance: 2,138
• Ústí: Holý – Yaméogo, Peterka (C), Březina (61. Novotný) – Ullman (61. Goj), D. Richter (81. Osaghae), Kott, Idumbo (75. Diarra) – Moulis – D. Černý, Do Marcolino (61. Fantiš)
• Č. Lípa: Vliegen – Dudl (84. Káža), Kouřil (C), Žežulka – D. Mašek (57. L. Dufek), Blecha (67. Vostřel), Havelka, Vlk (46. Haitl) – Ondráček, Červenka (46. Šimon), Schön