AMSTERDAM—Nermin Crnkić bagged his first goal of the young Czech Synot League season to send Jablonec on their way to a 2-1 road victory over Banik Ostrava on Saturday night.
After opening the contest by troubling the home netminder with a volley, the young winger quickly returned to open the scoring. In the eighth minute, Crnkić pulled down a long feed to draw a good save and then pounced on his own rebound to dent the net.
Crnkić nearly added a second in the waning moments, but his driven effort rattled the woodwork. Thanks to the points pocketed, third place Jablonec tentatively moved to within two points of the summit.
Turning to a Yank vs. Yank duel in the League of Ireland Cup final, Morgan Langley and St. Patrick's Athletic raised the trophy following an eventful 0-0 draw and ensuing shootout triumph against Jake Keegan's Galway United.
The midfielder, who worked 66 minutes, caused a panic at the Galway back when he intercepted a back pass to threaten in the eighth minute. Just past the half-hour, Keegan went agonizingly close to an ice-breaker when his downward header bounced over the bar.
Shortly after Langley departed from the game, Keegan forced a good stop during a phase of heavy Galway pressure. However, the striker was eventually one of two St. Pats players to fail on their penalty try when his attempt was rudely saved in the third round of the shootout.
In Norway's Tippeligaen, Bob Bradley's Stabæk conditionally reduced their deficit in the title race to eight points with a last-gasp 2-1 winner over visiting Tromsø. The Blue Ones rallied from last week's tough loss to leaders Rosenborg to snap their first two-game losing slide of the season.
In Eredivisie action, Rubio Rubin remained a spectator as 10-man FC Utrecht fell 3-1 at Vitesse. The Red-and-White Army had a four-game unbeaten run halted in dropping back to eighth place.
