Thursday, October 29, 2009

October 25, 2009 - Olomoucký Kraj Přebor - HFK Olomouc "B" 4 Kralice na Hané 1





October 25, 2009
Olomoucký Kraj Přebor - 5th division
HFK Olomouc "B" 4 Kralice na Hané 1
Admisson: 20kc
Attendance: 60
Game rating: 6.5/10
Distance travelled: 45km

HFK Olomouc "B" play their games in Hodolany, which is just behind the main train station in Olomouc. The ground is perhaps a 10 minute walk away. The main ground of HFK Olomouc is a few kilometers away in Holice. I had been meaning to get to Hodolany for a few years, but I kept being put off by the 10:15 Sunday morning kickoff.

It is worth noting a little history about the ground in Hodolany. FK Hodolany was established in 1912, which made it one of the oldest clubs in Moravia. In the 2004/05 season, they played in the Olomoucký Kraj Přebor, but after theyseason finished the club dissolved into HFK Olomouc. Thus, the reason why HFK "B" now play in Hodolany, because they own the ground. In a way, it is too bad, that a club with such a long history as FK Hodolany, ended in a merger.

There is one main stand at the ground, and I could definitely tell that it was quite old. It perhaps has a capacity of 300-400 people, and it is in need of some repair. However, there are not too many stands still around which have the same type of look.

The game was completely one sided, with the hosts dominating the majority of the play. It was not until the last 10 to 15 minutes that Kralice started to get some run of play.


October 24, 2009 - Olomoucký Kraj - 1. B Třída Skupina A - Haná Nezamyslice 2 Haná Prostějov 1a




October 24, 2009
Olomoucký Kraj - 1. B Třída Skupina A - 7th division
Haná Nezamyslice 2 Haná Prostějov 1
Attendance: 70
Admission: 15kc
Game rating: 6/10
Beer: 20kc
Distance travelled: 40km

Nezamyslice is a small village of a few thousand located 20km south of Prostějov. So, the game last weekend was something of a local derby.

I had been to Nezamyslice a few years back for a game, but I cannot seem to remember who I saw, or what the score was. The ground is located a short 15 minute walk from the train station. It has a stand with around 100 seats, but most people choose to lean against the railings surrounding the pitch.

The hosts, going into the game were sitting near the bottom of the table, but they had been competitive in most of their games. Despite this, I was hoping that Prostějov would come away from the game with a hard fought three points. A few things prevented this from happening. One was that Prostejov really struggled in front of the net, and the other was offside trap which was used quite effectively by Nezamyslice. In the end, this was one of those games, where you leave and wonder how did Prostějov manage to lose?

Friday, October 23, 2009

October 18th, 2009 - Jihomoravský Kraj - Vyškov Okres - III Třída Skupina A - Sokol Chvalkovice 2 Rychtářov 3





October 18, 2009
Jihomoravský Kraj - Vyškov Okres - III Třída Skupina A (9th level)
Sokol Chvalkovice na Hané 2 Rychtářov 3 (2:0)
Admission: 20kc
Attendance: 40
Game rating: 8/10
Distance travelled: 45km

The village of Chvalkovice na Hané is a small village of under 1,000 which lies on the border of the Olomoucký and Jihomoravský regions. I did not spend much time in the actual village, as I arrived only a few minutes before the kick-off. The pitch is easy enough to reach from the train station, as it is right across the tracks. There was no stand to speak of at the pitch, but there were benches scattered around. The team benches were dug into a hill, as such, they were elevated above the pitch. For a club of this level, the grass was in near perfect condition.

As for the game, it was cold and windy. I was happy that I brought my gloves and toque. The home side had a 2-0 lead, but they completely fell apart in the second half. Rychtářov scored three unanswered goals in the 2nd half to grab the three points. With the win, Rychtářov moved into fourth place, seven points behind first (promotion place)

Thursday, October 15, 2009

October 11/09 - Olomoucký Kraj - 1. B Třída - Skupina A - Kostelec na Hané 3 Haná Prostějov 2




October 11, 2009
Olomoucký Kraj - 1 B Třída - Skupina A
Kostelec na Hané 3 Haná Prostějov 2
Attendance: 150
Admission: 15kc
Game rating: 8/10
Beer: Černa Hora 20kc
Distance travelled: 10km

Kostelec na Hané is a town of around 2,000 people located a few kilometers from Prostějov, so the game last weekend was something of a local derby.

The pitch in Kostelec is located a short 5 minute walk from the train station. Recently, the ground was redeveloped, and the location of the pitch was changed. As such, the grass is in pretty good condition.

I obviously have a little bias towards Prostějov, but I still feel like they deserved to get at least a point from the game. Kostelec scored on a penalty, and their keeper scored from about 90 meters out. He kicked the ball, the wind took it, and it bounced about 5 meters in front of the keeper and into the net to give the hosts a 2-0 lead. Perhaps, the Haná keeper could have dealt with it a little better, but it was just one of those balls. It came down quickly, and took a huge bounce off of the ground. Despite this, Prostějov played hard and pressured Kostelec for the duration of the match, but could not find the tying goal.




Monday, October 5, 2009

October 4/09 - Olomoucký Kraj - 1. B Třída - Skupina A - Tatran Všechovice 0 Haná Prostějov 4





October 4th, 2009
Olomoucký Kraj - 1. B Třída - Skupina A (7th level)
Tatran Všechovice 0 Haná Prostějov 4
Attendance: 110
Admission: 20kc
Game rating: 7.5/10
Beer: Radegast 18kc
Distance travelled: 180km

I went the Všechovice in May to see Prostějov play during the 2008/09 season. Yesterday, I made the return trip for the same reason. This time I took a train from Prostějov-Olomouc-Hulin-Rajnochovice. After getting off the train in Rajnochovice, I walked the 5km to Všechovice. On the way back I took a bus from Všechovice to Hranice na Morave. From there a train to Olomouc and finally to Prostějov. Needless to say, Všechovice isn't the easiest place to get to on a Sunday.

Last year, Prostějov was out scored by Všechovice 8-1 in two games, with Všechovice just missing out on a promotion spot. This year, both clubs were in the top 6 going into the game.

The hosts were awarded a penalty in the first minute, but the Haná keeper stopped the shop with some help from the post. This set the tone of the game. I don't think I have seen Prostějov ever play as well as they did yesterday in the two years I have been watching them play. The turning point was obviously the penalty save, but Prostějov also scored the first goal of the game on the last play of the 1st half. The second half was dominated by the visitors, as they scored three goals.

Olomoucký Kraj - 1. B Třída - Skupina A (after 9 rounds)
1. Horní Moštěnice 9gp, 8w, 0d, 1l - 24pts
2. Haná Prostějov 9gp, 6w, 1d, 2l - 19pts
3. FK Býškovice 9gp, 6w, 1d, 2l - 19pts
4. Sigma Lutín 9gp, 5w, 1d, 3l - 16pts
5. Sokol Tovačov 9gp, 5w, 1d, 3l - 16pts
6. Tatran Všechovice 9gp, 5w, 0d, 4l - 15pts



Thursday, October 1, 2009

September 19, 2009 - Olomoucký Kraj - Okresní Přebor Jeseníky - Baník Kobylá 2 FC Mikulovice B 4






September 30th, 2009
Olomoucký Kraj - Okresní Přebor Jeseníky (8th level)
Baník Kobylá 2 FC Mikulovice B 4
Attendance: 40
Admission: Free
Beer: Hanušovice 18kc
Game Rating: 7/10

Kobylá is a small village of around 500 people located just north of the Jeseníky mountains. Getting there is easiest by train. All in all, I spent about 10 hours on the train, to travel 300km. This is to be expected, as the train from Olomouc chugs slowly through the mountains. The Jeseníky area is one of my favourite areas to watch a game. It is about a 10 minute walk from the train station to the village.

The ground at Kobylá was basic. It had a few benches running down the sides, and a small area to sit down outside of the wooden 'pub'. The pitch wasn't in the best shape, as the grass was long, there were mounds of dirt, and parts of the pitch weren't level. I watched as the Mikulovice team walked up to the pitch, and they had a look of 'we are playing here?'. With that being said, full credit to Kobylá for putting out a team year after year, despite losing the majority of their games. I was kind of surprised they didn't charge at least 10kc for admission, as it would be a source of income.

Mikulovice first team plays in the Czech 4th division, and their "B" team were near the top of the Okresní Přebor. Given the history of Kobylá, I was expecting a blowout. However, the hosts have certainly improved from the last time I saw them in the Spring. They have picked up a few players, who could be playing at a higher level. If they had a little more luck on their side, they could have snatched a draw from the game today.