It was a memorable end to a long season for Liverpool goalkeeper Vitezslav Jaros, who made his second appearance for the Czech Republic under-21s in a 7-0 win.
For Jaros, the 20-year-old academy stopper, it has been an eventful year-and-a-half.
Having joined Irish side St Patrick’s Athletic on a season-long loan in February of last year, the youngster ended his time in Dublin with triumph in the FAI Cup in November.
After a short break, Jaros then headed to Notts County in the National League in January, taking up a key role at Meadow Lane with 15 starts, ending in defeat to Grimsby in the playoff quarter-finals.
He then joined the Czech Republic U21s for their Euro qualifiers, as they took on Andorra and promotion rivals England in Group G.
Sitting out of the 2-1 loss to England, behind first-choice goalkeeper Matej Kovar, Jaros was then called into the starting lineup for the meeting with Andorra on Monday evening.
Souboj s Andorrou pohledem ? pic.twitter.com/QTHzNNSbXE
— ?eská fotbalová reprezentace (@ceskarepre_cz) June 13, 2022
It brought his second-ever outing for the U21s and resulted in a second clean sheet, this time in a 7-0 victory in Brno.
Adam Karabec and Vaclav Sejk both netted braces, with further goals from Adam Gabriel, Michal Sevcik and Krystof Danek, on a relatively quiet evening for Jaros, whose biggest involvement was thwarting Izan Fernandez in a one-on-one.
The Czech Republic now look to the playoffs, having finished second in Group G, with hopes of a place at the Euros in 2023.
Jaros will now depart on a post-season break before returning to Kirkby for training next month, though it remains to be seen whether he will join the first team or under-23s.
Liverpool’s U23s usually begin pre-season a week earlier than their senior counterparts, with the likes of Pepijn Lijnders, Vitor Matos and John Achterberg keeping a watchful eye on those players involved.
With Loris Karius having departed on the expiry of his contract, there could be a place for Jaros in the Reds’ pre-season squad, with plans to tour the Far East before a training camp in Austria.
Alisson, Caoimhin Kelleher, Adrian and Marcelo Pitaluga are all expected to be involved, while Harvey Davies and Jakub Ojrzynski could also be drafted in.
It seems likely that Jaros will head out on loan again in 2022/23, though it is hoped he can join a club operating at a higher level than the National League – and perhaps even one in the Championship.
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