Even with a 4:1 win, victory did not fall into the Czech Republic's lap. The Slovakians were able to annoy the winning team with their self-sacrificing play, but were unable to defeat it.
The match schedule meant that these two teams crossed sticks again after yesterday's round robin match. Today, however, it was all about reaching the World Cup final, where the Slovakians were able to resist to the Czechs for a surprisingly long time.
The Czech team made a furious start to the game to the loud drum roll of its supporters and put the Slovakians under constant pressure. Kubaniova in the Slovakian goal had her work cut out for her, but she managed to avoid conceding a goal. Her colleagues' counter-attacks were sparse, but not without danger. In the 12th minute, Kaltounkova gave the Czechs a not undeserved 1:0 lead after targeted passes from Manhartova and Herzigova. The Slovakians were not intimidated by this, however, and two minutes before the end of the period, Zaborska equalized with a powerful shot from distance.
After the break, the Slovakians initially looked fresher and more determined. Patockova was the first to fail when the Czech side attempted to relieve the pressure, but was denied by the Slovakian goalkeeper. A minute later, Herzigova did better by converting a pass from Manhartova to give her team a 2:1 lead. Shortly before the end of the second period, Patockova took advantage of a powerplay situation to make it 3:1. Did the spell now seem to be broken?
The Czech team got off to the desired start in the final period. Kaltounkova increased the lead to 4:1 with a shot from distance after just a few minutes. The Czech Republic's superiority increased as the game progressed. Even though they did not manage to score another goal, the Slovakians fought bravely and demanded a lot from the Czech Republic.
All games of the Streethockey World Championship can also be watched on live stream at https://streethockeywc.asport.tv/.

