A victory that carries real significance. In Saturday’s clash with Košice, DAC found themselves trailing for the first time this season – and, in fact, they had to come from behind twice. However, Robert Klauss’s men showed that their winning streak is built not only on footballing quality and attacking strength, but also on a strong mentality. “It was the most demanding match of the season, both mentally and physically. The most important thing is that we weren’t broken by having to come from behind twice. It was the first time this had happened to us this season, but in the end, we managed to turn it into three points. That says a lot about our mentality,” Matej Trusa stressed after the game.

DAC turned the scoreline around to win 3–2 and extended their winning streak. Although the Yellow and Blue striker did not get on the scoresheet this time, he constantly caused problems for the visitors’ defence. He came close to scoring twice, but on both occasions Matúš Kira produced an excellent save. Trusa knows the Košice goalkeeper, his former teammate, from previous encounters, in which he had already managed to beat him. “I remember a couple of occasions when I got past him, perhaps twice at home and once away. Today, he won our personal duel,” he admitted with a smile.

DAC went into Saturday’s match against Košice knowing that a victory would strengthen their position at the top of the table and extend their lead over Slovan to ten points. And that is exactly what happened. “Of course, we keep an eye on our rivals as well. The others sometimes slip up and drop points too. It’s not easy to maintain a winning streak, but I’ll come back to the character of our team. I think it’s precisely our mentality that has been one of our greatest strengths this season.”

The Michalovce-born striker has now made 74 league appearances for DAC, scoring 31 goals and providing 11 assists in Yellow and Blue. Now, a new chapter in his career awaits him in the colours of the national team.

Today, he will join the Slovak senior national team for the first time in his career. He learned about the possibility of being called up before the official squad announcement, but had to wait for final confirmation. “Of course, until it’s official, you can never be certain. I’m looking forward to it; it’s a new experience for me. I’m also a little nervous because I don’t know what to expect. But I know what I can bring to the team, and above all, the team performance will be important. I’m excited – it’s a dream come true,” said the DAC striker, who will celebrate his 26th birthday at the end of November.

The international call-up is all the more valuable to him after a difficult period marked by injuries. Matej sees it as a reward for everything he has had to overcome, but he is determined not to rest on his laurels. “On the one hand, it is certainly a reward for everything I’ve had to overcome. But I don’t want to look at it as if I’ve already achieved something and can now take it easy. There is more work ahead of me and, of course, I will want to help the team.”