SV Sandhausen took home the winning cup from Tipsport Malta Cup 2023

Tipsport organized the 5th edition of the Tipsport Malta Cup, an international football tournament on the Mediterranean island of Malta.For the first time, six clubs appeared in the tournament instead of the usual four.From the Czech league, Liberec and Zlín, Slovakia was represented by Trenčín and Trnava, there was a traditional Austrian participant WSG Tirol, and for the first time the German club, the second division SV Sandhausen, started, which in the end became a surprising winner.

2. Bundesliga over the forces of the Czech and Slovak 1st leagues

Sandhausen certainly did not surpass its opponents by that much in terms of football, perhaps except for the opening duel with Trnava 3:0, but consistent German football celebrated success both in the next match in the group against Zlín 2:1 and in the final against Tirol 3:2.Journalists asked the coach of SV Sandhausen, Alois Schwartz, after the winning final, mainly about how much he was surprised that after the autumn, the last team of the 2nd Bundesliga was beating the first league clubs."The Second Bundesliga is a demanding competition, a large number of clubs have a long tradition in the First Bundesliga and promotion ambitions.I definitely do not underestimate Czech, Austrian and Slovak football, but the level is comparable to your first leagues.

Tirol midfielder Sulzbacher, author of the goal of the tournament, with which he scored against Sandhausen in the final

After the final, Martin Švejnoha, assistant coach of the defeated Tirol and former Pilsen player, evaluated the participation in Malta: "Winning the tournament was not a priority here in Malta, the main thing for us was preparation, but when we reached the final, we wanted to win.In terms of football, we were probably even the better team, especially in the second half, but the opponent punished us after mistakes from breaks.They played typical German football, physically demanding, the players did not let a single fight go."

Matches in groups

The six participants were divided into two groups.At the beginning, the tournament offered draw matches between Tirol and Liberec in Group A and Trnava and Zlín in "B" with the same score of 1:1.The next day of play already brought sharper duels.In particular, Sandhausen's 3:0 clash with Trnava (division B) had the parameters of competitive football.Trnava stopper Lukáš Štetina was seen a lot.The former player of Dukla or Sparta Prague really got the game going in his first match with several sharp tackles.Liberec stayed in the game for winning the group by defeating Trenčín 2:1 (sk. A), but had to wait for the result of the next match between Tirol and Trenčín.

The wall: Trnava stopper Lukáš Štetina (No. 2)

In the decisive match of the group for promotion, it looked like North Bohemia for a long time, Trenčín even led, such a result would have suited Liberec, but Tirol eventually turned the duel around and after a 3:1 win, Slovan jumped ahead of Slovan in 1st place in the table by a single goal.The second Czech representative, Zlín, did similarly and could also advance to the final if they won over Sandhausen.The 1:0 lead after Simerský's goal was not maintained by Zlín, they lost 1:2 and finished second.The matches for the placement thus brought together the Czech clubs Zlín and Liberec and the Slovak Trnava and Trenčín, which everyone wanted to avoid during the preparation.

Final day

Slovakian clubs competed for 5th place at the Tony Bezzina stadium and in an even match, Trnava confirmed their better form and the position of the third club in the Slovak league.The match between Zlín and Liberec at the Ta' Qali national stadium brought a clear result of 3:0 for Slovan, who dominated the game, and the Zlín team did not convert their chances.

Zlín coach Pavel Vrba will rely on experienced forward Libor Kozák this season

"I'm glad we took part in the tournament, the conditions here are simply ideal.We are disappointed with the match for the position, although we also had chances.I believe that in the championship matches our attacking reinforcements Kozák and Balaj will wake up, especially the experienced Libor Kozák is a ready-made player and he immediately fit into the team," said Zlín coach Pavel Vrba.The final saw a big shootout with 4 goals scored in the opening 12 minutes, including a long-range display from Tirol midfielder Lucas Sulzbacher, and Sandhausen 3-1 up.In the second half, Tirol finished powerfully, it was clearly better, but its players could not do more than reduce the score to 3:2.

Final matches - results: 5th place I FC Spartak Trnava – AS Trenčín I 2 : 1 (1 : 1) 3rd place I FC Trinity Zlín – FC Slovan Liberec I 0 : 3 (0 : 2) ​​​​​​​Finále I SV Sandhausen – WSG Tirol I 3 : 2 (3 : 1)

Nigerian midfielder Ahmad Abubakar Ghali (in blue), a Slovan Liberec player, who scored two goals in the tournament and was a prominent figure in the Liberec offensive, became the best player of the Tipsport Malta Cup in a poll of journalists and organizers."It means a lot to me. I am grateful and happy to have received this award. And hopefully more will come. I am certainly pleased with the goals I have scored and of course also the results. In any case, the goals scored are not only about my work, but about the workof the whole team," he added, commenting on Ghali's individual award.

Photogallery final Tipsport Malta Cup 2023. Photo: Domenic Aquilina