Lukáš Němec, 19, plays like he has been here for years — 7.70
A mark of 7.70 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 19-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
At 19 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zlate Moravce this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 19-year-old it feels ownership of. Lukáš Němec has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Zlate Moravce this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad21 Sep 2026
Words at Zlate Moravce training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jiří Kateřiňák is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Norbert Rusnak could afford to be generous.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Dukla Banská Bystrica in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
Jiří Kateřiňák and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Successful dribbles: 15. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout14 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Norbert Rusnak was not hiding it after 0‑0, and nobody in the Zlate Moravce dressing room was either.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Chances created: 9. Nothing on the scoresheet and everything in the match: the pass before the pass, over and over, until the defence stopped guessing right.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Zlate Moravce can pretend not to have heard.
The offer from MFK Zvolen for Vinícius Kevin was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
The deal with Cracovia is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
The phone has started ringing about Filip Mikeš again, and this time the name on the line is Spartak Pleven. Zlate Moravce are listening politely and promising nothing.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jiří Kateřiňák was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Zlate Moravce asked and MFK Ruzomberok said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.
A 1‑0 win over Slávia TU Košice, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
Player ratings24 Aug 2026
Martinko Macák, 18, plays like he has been here for years — 7.97
A mark of 7.97 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 18-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Vojtěch Kubista was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
He is 19 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
The deal with Slovan Liberec is done in every sense but the one that puts him on the pitch. Nothing goes wrong at this stage, except on the occasions when it does.
Jiří Kateřiňák and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at Zlate Moravce training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Vojtěch Kubista is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a level at which a footballer stops being tested and starts being contained, and he reached it some time ago. Zlate Moravce know it, and so does everybody who watches him.
In brief
Transfer targetsA loan move for David Jackuliak is in the works