Sunday, March 29, 2009

Mar 28/09 - MSFL - FK Apos Blansko 2 vs Sigma Olomouc B 2









March 29th, 2009 

MSFL (3rd division)
FK Apos Blansko 2 Sigma Olomouc "B" 2
Attendance: 650
Admission: 45kc
Beer: Cerna Hora (20kc)
Game rating: 8/10

Blansko is a town of around 20,000 located north of Brno.  A travel book describes it as being functional, because of its proximity to Moravsky Kras (a network of more than 1100 caves and gorges).  The town itself lacks the historical look for a tourist destination, but it was pleasant enough.

Football in Blansko has a long history, but it was in 2004 that the club rebranded.  Since then they have been promoted three years in a row, and they now find themselves in the 3rd division.  They are fairing well enough this year, and should be able to avoid relegation.

The stadium is easy enough to find, as it is only a 10 minute walk straight up a hill from the train station.  The main, and only stand, is quite old and has a capacity of a few thousand.  It sits rather far back, and high up from the pitch, which suggests it could have been bigger at some point.

With regards to the game, it was entertaining enough.  I wasn't exactly a neutral as I use to follow Sigma Olomouc quite closely, so I ended up being the only Sigma supporter at the game.he first half was quite cautious and rather dull.  However, the pace of the match picked up considerably in the second half with a red card, some chippy tackles, and a fantastic penalty stop by the Sigma keeper with about 10-minutes left.   

Sunday, March 22, 2009

March 20/09 - Divize D - FK Mohelnice-Moravičany 2 SK Rostex Vyškov 0





March 20th, 2009 ´

FK Mohelnice-Moravičany 2 SK Rostek Vyškov 0
Divize Skupina D (4th division)
Attendance: 300
Admission: 20kc
Game rating: 7.5/10

Mohelnice is a small town of 10,000 people located about 20km north of Olomouc.  It is easy enough to reach as its on a main trainline.  The town centre is located about 2km north of the train station.

Now for a little background history of the town.  In 1623, during the Thirty Year War, the town was levelled by Swedish troops and around 30% of the towns' population died.  Over the next few centuries the town suffered fires and plague on a few occassions.   In 1938, Nazi Germany took over the town and brought it into the Sudetenland.  Soon after, many Germans moved into the town, and subsequently 95% of the towns' population was German.  After the war, most of the German citizens over the age of 18 were ordered to leave.

Mohelnice were promoted to the Divize D this year after they won the Olomoucký Kraj Přebor (5th division).  When I arrived to the ground, I was surprised to find out that they were using the artifical turf pitch located beside the main ground.  This was because the club is replanting much of the grass on the main ground.  

The game itself was decent enough for a neutral.  Mohelnice had only won two games in the fall portion of the season and Vyškov have aspirations on promotion.  On paper this seemed like a mismatch, but Mohelnice played above their level on the day, scoring a goal in each half.




Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Back to football...

The spring season has begun, so I'll be heading to a few more games.   Updates will follow...