Pardubice vs Žilina

Žilina struck twice in three minutes midway through the first half to seize control. Miroslav Káčer won the ball in midfield and threaded a pass through for František Kóša, who lobbed Pardubice goalkeeper Luděk Mandous to open the scoring in the 13th minute. Two minutes later, Marko Roginić delivered from the left flank and Timotej Hranica steamed in ahead of Mouhamed Tidjane Traore to double the lead.

Pardubice had dominated the opening stages — Vojtěch Patrák, Václav Drchal and Traore all missed clear chances inside the first six minutes — but found themselves two behind after Žilina's ruthless counter-attacks.

The home side halved the deficit in the 27th minute through a stroke of fortune. Under pressure from Pardubice's press, Žilina goalkeeper Jakub Badžgoň sliced his attempted clearance into his own net.

Pardubice continued to push and levelled in the 63rd minute. Patrák slipped a pass behind the Žilina defence for Abdullahi Tanko, who sprinted clear and finished low into the left corner.

Badžgoň's own goal just before the half-hour mark shifted the game's momentum entirely. Until that point, Žilina had looked comfortable protecting their two-goal cushion and dangerous on the break. The own goal — a panicked clearance under pressure from Tanko — gave Pardubice a foothold they had deserved but failed to create for themselves, and they dominated territory for the remainder of the match.

Abdullahi Tanko (Pardubice): The forward was a persistent threat, forcing the own goal through his press and scoring the equaliser with a composed finish. His movement stretched Žilina's back three throughout.

František Kóša (Žilina): Opened the scoring with a well-taken lob and led the line effectively, holding the ball up to relieve pressure during Žilina's best spells.

Vojtěch Patrák (Pardubice): The captain created the equaliser with a clever through-ball and was involved in most of his side's best attacking moments.

Pardubice's territorial dominance, especially after the own goal, told a clear story: they created the better chances across the 90 minutes but were let down by finishing in the opening quarter-hour. Žilina, by contrast, took two of their three genuine attacks in the first half to score, demonstrating clinical transitional play — a hallmark Pavol Staňo will want to carry into European competition.

Žilina remain without a win in pre-season after four friendlies (draws with Opava, Odra Opole and Pardubice, a defeat to Dynamo Kyiv). Their training camp in Upper Austria (22 June–2 July) concludes with this result, and they now turn their attention to UEFA Europa League first qualifying round duty, which begins in early July.

Pardubice played a double-header on Wednesday, having drawn 1-1 with Polish side OKS Odra Opole earlier in the day. They continue their own Austrian camp with a fixture against Rapid Vienna on 5 July, followed by KS Cracovia, before returning to Czechia to prepare for their Chance Liga opener against Hradec Králové.

A fair reflection of a pre-season contest between two sides at different stages of preparation. Žilina, a week away from competitive action, showed sharpness in transition but faded physically after the break. Pardubice, still early in their build-up, lacked ruthlessness in the final third but demonstrated encouraging resilience to fight back from 2-0 down.