Slovaks deliver hammer blow to Czechs with 2-1 win

Slovakia shook off neighbours and arch-rivals Czech Republic with a 2-1 win in a World Cup qualifier in Prague on Wednesday.

The victory put Slovakia in the second place in Group Three with 12 points, a single point behind leaders Northern Ireland and two points clear of Poland, while the Czechs slumped into the fourth place, five points off the lead.

Both teams angered their fans on Saturday as Slovakia was trounced 4-0 by England at Wembley in a friendly and the Czechs stumbled to a lacklustre goalless draw in Slovenia in a qualifier.

The Slovaks regained self-confidence 22 minutes into the game when Stanislav Sestak put them ahead with a low shot from close range following a series of blunders in the Czech defence.

The Czechs came back in the 30th minute when Liverpool centre-back Martin Skrtel deflected a corner into his own net, but Erik Jendrisek gave the Slovaks the win in the 83th minute.

The Czechs, who missed injured Arsenal midfielder Tomas Rosicky, created a few good scoring chances in the second half. But midfielder David Jarolim blasted a volley from 20 metres into the post and striker Tomas Necid then chipped the ball over the crossbar.

The home crowd were stunned seven minutes from the end as Kaiserslautern midfielder Jendrisek first blasted the ball at Czech keeper Petr Cech and then comfortably converted the rebound.

The Slovak fans chanted “We are the home side” on several occasions, recalling the former Czechoslovak federation that split amicably in 1993.