As expected, the Czechs asserted themselves from the first whistle, but were denied an early opener after Andrias Edmundsson’s attempt to clear Vladimir Coufal’s long throw saw the ball fall invitingly for Jaroslav Zeleny, as Bardur a Reynatrod was equal to the full-back’s venomous volley.
Following a missed opportunity from Patrik Schick, the Czechs had a scare when a defensive mix-up allowed Hanus Sørensen to get through on goal, although his tame shot was palmed away by Matej Kovar.
There was then concern for Tomas Holes when the centre-back was forced off in the 23rd minute, but the Czech Republic had a reason to celebrate moments later. Vaclav Cerny’s initial corner was deflected across the box and Lukas Cerv collected the ball before getting it back into the danger area for Schick to head home the opener.
The visitors responded well with Arni Frederiksberg’s free-kick being deflected behind for a corner that culminated in Edmundsson’s header testing Kovar.
Czech corners also continued to cause problems, as Tomas Soucek had a flick cleared off the line by Viljormur Davidsen and sent another attempt wide. Having avoided further damage, the Faroe Islanders emerged from the break defiantly and limited the hosts, with A Reynatrod snatching the ball away from Cerny after some lovely link-up play.
A Reynatrod wasn’t a perfect foil though, and found himself beaten when a Cerny ball into the box was touched down by Schick and turned in by Ladislav Krejci, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Krejčí soon returned to his defensive duties to head away a Sorensen strike, before Tomáš Chorý and Zelený missed the target at the other end.
Chory was then left frustrated after seeing a powerful header saved, and that extended to the whole nation when Gunnar Vatnhamar rose to head home Adrian Justinussen’s corner in the 83rd minute. Schick responded just two minutes later to avoid a Czech humiliation, as he headed in from Zeleny’s cross.
That meant the Czech Republic could celebrate extending their unbeaten run to six matches across all competitions, and joined Montenegro (earlier 3-1 winners against Gibraltar) on three points in WC qualification Group L. They also condemned the Faroe Islands to a record of just one win from their last 20 competitive away matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Patrik Schick (Czech Republic)
