Ammar Ramadan was the hero of Sunday’s top-of-the-table clash in the 11th round of the Niké Liga. First faced second in Žilina, where DAC claimed a 3-2 victory, with Ramadan contributing a goal and an assist. In the 48th minute, he set up Bálint Csóka, before scoring the decisive goal to make it 3-2 in the 71st minute.

Following this victory, we have a five-point lead at the top of the table, with a game in hand. The 25-year-old Syrian attacking gem has also strengthened his position as the league’s most productive player. After 10 matches, he has 15 points to his name, with seven goals and eight assists.

“Congratulations to the whole team, the coaching staff and the management. We have all worked hard on the mentality we showed in this match because it was a tough game, a very tough one. We knew it would be like that. We made an excellent start and played really well for about 25 minutes, until we conceded. Then we dropped off a little, but that was precisely when we showed the right mentality. In the second half, we showed a champions’ mentality, something we hadn’t had for a long time. Now we have it, and we are more mature,” he began in his post-match assessment.

“The home team wanted to make a statement against the league leaders. They have a very good squad and good players, and they were playing at home. They were highly motivated, but I think we handled it very well. We knew how to control the game against a tough opponent who had more possession,” the Syrian footballer continued, before discussing the two goal-scoring situations in which he was involved.

“The pass to Bálint wasn’t a coincidence; we practise this every day. It’s the style of football we want to play. Csóki knows me and knows that when I get the ball, I can play it into space. He didn’t even look at me, but I saw him making the run and played the pass. He then produced an amazing touch and a brilliant finish. It was a very important goal for us at the start of the second half.”

After both of DAC’s goals, the home side hit back, on each occasion following our mistakes. However, those setbacks did not break the team’s resolve.

“These things can happen in football. But once again, we showed our mentality. We didn’t let up or lose faith in our own strength. We showed great character as a team.”

He described the decisive moment as follows:

“It was an amazing goal. I practice these shots a lot in training. Sometimes the ball doesn’t go in, but sometimes it goes in by a centimeter. This was one of those days when it went in. I’m delighted that I could help the team win with this goal. I’m very happy for myself and for the team. It wasn’t just an ordinary goal; it was the winning goal against the second-placed team in the battle for first place. It was the most important goal of my season so far. And I finally scored at this stadium,” Ammar Ramadan added, referring to the fact that this was his first goal at Žilina’s Štadión pod Dubňom.

Ramadan in numbers
- This was his 13th league appearance for DAC against Žilina. He has now scored five goals against them, but this was his first away goal in the fixture; his previous four all came at home.
- After the weekend, he has made 116 appearances and scored 36 goals for DAC in the top flight.
- In terms of appearances, he has entered the club’s all-time top 15 in the top division.
- He ranks fifth on DAC’s all-time top-flight scoring list, just one goal behind Rudolf Pavlík in fourth place (37).