October 23rd, 2011 - Olomoucký Kraj - Okres Olomouc - IV třída, skupina B` - Pnovice 3 Hnojice 1

October 23rd, 2011

Olomoucký Kraj - Okres Olomouc - IV třída, skupina B (10th tier)

Pnovice 3 Hnojice 1

Attendance: 75

Admission: Free (?)

Finally, I got to a new ground last weekend. Like the previous years, this village was a little difficult to reach by public transportation on the weekend. First, I took a train from Prostějov to Olomouc. From there, I caught a train to Střen, which only took about 15 minutes. After getting off at the edge of the village, I walked down a country road for about 3-km towards Pnovice.

Pnovice, is a small village of around 800 people, located about 15km to the NW of Olomouc. In previous years, it was probably quite a sleepy place, but recently newer homes have been built, due to its proximity to Olomouc.

Once arriving, I decided to take a short walk around, but there wasn't much to see. A church, a small creek, and a sawn. However, I did see one or two people walking around, but that is it. The only people who were really outside on this Sunday afternoon were at the football match.

Walking down the lane towards to pitch, I could hear a Beatles song being played over the loud speaker. Walking through the gate, I saw a decent amount of people for a 10th tier match. A few benches were located on both sides, with a rather run-down clubhouse. Behind one of the goals to the right was an equally run-down pub. However, it served its purpose... beer.

The match was a local derby, as Hnojice is located about 5km from Pnovice. They brought a few supporters with them, but they had little to cheer for. The hosts controlled much of the match, and were unlucky not to score more goals.

A full set of photos from the match can be found here

October 9th, 2011 - Prostějov IV třída, skupina A - Plumlov B 2 Ptení 2

October 9th, 2011

Okres Prostějov - IV třída, skupina A (10th level)

Plumlov "B" 2 Ptení 2

Attendance: 30

Admission: Free

Last Sunday, I made the short bus trip (about 20 minutes) to the village of Krumsín. Like most villages in the Czech Republic, which aren't serviced by trains, buses are few and far between. However, as a result of the earlier kick-offs as the autumn drags on, I was able to get to Krumsín for a match.

The village has a population of 600, and is probably best known in the area for hosting the 5-a side Haná Cup every summer attracting teams from across the country, and the occasional international side.

Since the village is quite small, it is almost impossible not to find the ground. It is located about 200 meters from the village centre, which features a pub, church and a school.

As of three seasons ago, the village doesn't have a club to call its own. The 2009/10 season saw the end of Sokol Krumsín, when they lost their last match 8-1 at home against Otaslavice B in the Okres Prostějov IV třída, skupina B (1oth level). They finished the 14 match season in mid-table. Over the previous few years, the club finished near the top of the table, but for whatever reason, they decided to leave league football. I can only speculate, but it was probably a result of lack of money, and lack of players. Seven years ago, the club was playing 8th division football.

At the same time this was happening, Plumlov reformed their reserves side, and moved it to Krumsín. Plumlov is about 5km from the village, so it makes geographical sense. However, based on the attendance of the game last weekend, it seems most villagers can't be bothered. A majority of people there were from Ptení, and some from Plumlov. I can't really blame the locals, as how much connection could they have to a reserve side from a different village?

Despite all this, Krumsín has a nice little set-up, with a decent pitch and a good quality outdoor pub. The match itself wasn't too bad for the level of football. Both sides played attacking football, and enjoyed many quality chances on goal. It was a good afternoon spend, beer, free football, and a decent local match. How can you go wrong?

All the pictures can be found on the Kde je Stadion Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kde-je-Stadion/218913734791381

October 3rd, 2011 - Prostějov III třída - SK Prostějov 4 Kladky 0

October 3rd, 2011

Prostějov - III třída (9th division)

SK Prostějov 4 Kladky 0

Admission: 10kc

Attendance: 60

Unfortunately, my camera broke on the day of the game, so I wasn't able to take any pictures of video. However, I can write a little bit about the game. A few times a year, I will head to Mostkovice to watch SK Prostějov, even though I am a supporter of Haná Prostějov. SK usually plays good football, and the bar at Mostkovice has Černá Hora on tap, which is a big draw for me.

Overall, I was disappointed with the game on Sunday. SK didn't seem to play up to their potential, and most of the game was quite sloppy. Neither team could get much going, but SK obviously did enough to get the three points. Perhaps it had something to do with the pitch? It was simply in awful condition. There were many places with brown, dry grass, but it must be said it hasn't rained here in a few weeks. I can't imagine it was nice to play on such a hard surface.

FK Prostějov (4th division) were playing on the other side of town, with a crowd of 520, compared to only around 60 for SK Prostějov. Too bad, but I guess most people want to see a higher level of play, rather than supporting a club (SK) with a longer history. Full credit to those who show up every week to watch SK play.