This was the 56th season of the Slovak Cup and it was a rerun of the 2024 final between the holders, Ruzomberok and Spartak Trnava.
It was played in sunny Dunajska Streda, some 50km south west of the capital, Bratislava.
Where on May 1st, the local town was very quiet apart from the odd ice cream outlet and one or two cafes serving beer and shots to the visiting fans.
In the end it was revenge for Spartak as they won their ninth title.
Around the modern, well-appointed DAC Arena there was a sizeable police presence while inside the fans were mostly split at either ends of the stadium.
Although those from Trnava were by far the majority.
Spartak would certainly have been favourites with their much more cosmopolitan lineup including the highly regarded Slovenian Adrian Zeljkovic and the Czech Milos Kratochvil in midfield and Kelvin Ofori (Ghana) playing wide right.
And it was another Czech, Erik Daniel who produced one of the early shots, saved well enough by loanee goalie Hugo Backovsky.
Meanwhile, at the other end, Ziga Frelih in the Spartak goal nearly gave away the opener when he miskicked wildly, only to get back quickly and recover.
Generally Spartak looked more threatening and they did go in front, on the half hour, when Daniel turned in an effort from inside the area after a cross wasn’t properly cleared.
That was in front of the ultras from Trnava who would later celebrate with copious pyro and thick smoke.
Their opponents would respond with some late first half corners and a header from captain Jan Hladik.
Being a goal down, the ‘Rose’ made changes after the interval and almost immediately substitute David Huf (another Czech) went close with a right foot shot.
And on the hour, the chance to equalise came after the award of a spot kick for tripping.
But midfielder Samuel Lavrincik’s shot went wide, much to the delight of the watching Spartak fans.
That would be Ruzomberok’s key opportunity, despite the inevitable late pressure from a number of set plays in the eventual nine minutes of added time.
So the Cup went to Trnava, who had eliminated Slovan on penalties in the semis, for their ninth title.
It would also qualify them for the early stage of the UEFA Europa League.
Report from Dunajska Streda - John Bethell
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