March 25th, 2012 - Okres Přerov III třída - Bochoř 2 Polkovice 0

March 25th, 2012

Okres Přerov III třída (9th tier)

Bochoř 2 Polkovice 0

Attendance: 110

Admission: ?

Distance travelled: 85km

Finally, I was able to go to a match outside of Prostějov. I had to find a place which was easy enough to reach by train, and not too far away. Bochoř was a perfect fit for these requirements , as it is only 40km away by train. To get to the village I took a 'slow' train from Prostějov to Nezamyslice where I caught a train headed towards Přerov. I got off the last stop before Přerov, a small village called Věžky. From there I walked along a path next to the train tracks for about a kilometre until I reached Bochoř.

About 1,000 people live in the village. It is really known for anything, but there a beautiful old church and a very small lázně. The football pitch is located on the edge of town, and along the main road. Like most small villages, you have to try very hard not to find a football pitch.

The pitch is separated from the road and homes with a fence. There is the usual pub stand with sausages and beer, and an outdoor seating area. Funnily enough, this is where a lot of people seemed to pass the game, not really watching it at all. In a village the local pub isn't always open, so a football game is a good place to find a beer or four.

The visitors, Polkovice, recently spent a few years in Okres Prostějov, but made the switch back to the Přerov region. Their team on the day was made up of 11 field players, and one coach. No one else was on the bench, as apparently they had some injury problems. Polkovice are near the bottom of the standings anyway, so missing a few players could have proved to be a huge problem.

Since this was the 9th tier of football the play wasn't the best, but that was to be expected. Poor touches, and poor play was the theme of the day. However, football is football, and the game was still entertaining enough if you take into account the level of play. The hosts controlled much of the game and probably deserved a wider margin of victory. The visitors had a decent counter attack, and with a little more luck, could have put one into the net. However, they never looked like getting anything from the match.

March 17th, 2012 - Divize E - FK Prostějov 4 Havířov 0

March 17th, 2012

Divize E (4th tier)

FK Prostějov 4 Havířov 0

Attendance - 960

Admission - 20kc

After putting it off for the first half of the season, I decided to take in a FK Prostějov, mostly because I was desperate for some competitive football. Despite this, I could only last about 15 minutes at the match, as I left soon after the first goal in the 15th minute. I couldn't watch another minute. Almost one thousand people showed up, but no energy from the crowd.

FK Prostějov? What exactly are they? Well, since I am Canadian, I would make a link between expansion of sports franchises in North America and FK. They bought their way into the 4th tier of football, and very few players had any connections with SK Prostějov (currently in the 9th tier), so in my opinion they are an expansion side. They didn't really exist last year, and basically people go watch them to see a higher level of football, but how much do they really care? FK has absolutely no history to speak of, and they have little or no identity in the community. A little harsh, but it does have some truth in it.

Perhaps the people behind the club are trying to change this, because they brought in the same sponsor SK had during the 1980's? It seems to me that they are trying to connect with the city, and with the history of football, even though they have none. The history belongs to SK, no matter how hard they try with the FK 'franchise'. It'll be interesting to see what happens this summer when it is expected that SK and FK will merge.

I know I am probably in the minority with my opinion of FK as most people probably just want to watch the highest level of football possible, but that doesn't mean everyone should follow in line.

March 3rd, 2012 - Friendly - Haná Prostějov 5 Otaslavice 0

March 3, 2012 - Friendly

Haná Prostějov (7th tier) 5 Otaslavice (8th tier) 0

Attendance: 35

Finally, after nearly four months, Haná took to the pitch again in a friendly. They will play around four friendly matches before the season restarts on April 8th.

I made the short walk to the stadium, and at kickoff I counted three people in attendance. As the match went on, around 35 people showed up, with some of them coming from Otaslavice.

The team has been meeting a few times a week over the last month, so it was to be expected they would be a little rusty. They lost a few players over the winter break, and they have brought in a few players in on trial, hoping to fill the gap made by the players who have left. One such player played youth football at Sigma Olomouc, and was playing in Austria last year, so it is hoped that he will be able to contribute this year.

The match was played in good spirits with both sides eager to get their legs back. One big positive to take from the match was the goals that Haná scored, which were quality and unstoppable by the young Otaslavice keeper. They had problems scoring during the first half of the season, and it is important for them to get some goals in the up-coming friendlies to help build confidence. It is going to be tough to finish in first place, and thus get the only promotion spot, but with a little better finishing, anything can happen.