BRATISLAVA, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- One of this season's newcomers, FK Zeleziarne Podbrezova remains the only undefeated team after the 9th round of the Slovak football premiership, beating MSK Zilina 1-0 over the weekend and moving back to the second in the standings.
Despite the loss of captain Tomas Nemcik who got sent off in the 25th minute, Podbrezova, who returned to the top flight after a three-year absence, struggled to take advantage until the injury time when 17-year-old striker Andy Masaryk tipped in a rebound after the goalkeeper pushed an easy center-pass right in front of him.
"It is an indescribable feeling. I am happy to have scored and also, it was the decisive strike that brought us three points against a tough opponent," said Masaryk after his first Fortuna Liga goal.
SK Slovan Bratislava stays on top of the league after a meager 1-0 victory over another newcomer MFK Dukla Banska Bystrica. FC Spartak Trnava had to surrender the runner-up position after a 3-2 loss to MFK Ruzomberok.
Similar to Podbrezova, SK Slovan Bratislava also scored just a single goal in Banska Bystrica which keeps it on top of the standings with a 5-point lead. Also, it was yet another rebound opportunity. After just 5 minutes on the pitch, the substituted Armenian striker Tigran Barseghyan send the ball into the back of the net after the home team's defense failed to clear it away from the box twice.
The last season's runner-up MFK Ruzomberok produced a blistering start against FC Spartak Trnava, opening the score just 55 seconds into the game and adding two more to lead 3-1 going into the locker rooms at half-time. The visitors managed to get within striking distance when Martin Mikovic cut the deficit to 2-3 early into the second half but failed to even things up as the home keeper Ivan Krajcirik put on a show and didn't let anything get past him. ■
