January 30th, 2010 - 2. Liga Východ - SHK Hodonín 7 HK Jestřábi Prostějov 0

January 30th, 2010

2. Liga Východ (3rd level)

SHK Hodonín 7 HK Jestřábi Prostějov 0

Attendance: 1750 (away support of 50)

Admission: 60kc seating, 50kc standing

Game rating: 6.5/10

Distance travelled: 250km

Being Canadian, I do tend to go to the odd Prostějov hockey game throughout the year. Yesterday, I made the trip to Hodonín which is a smallish town in Southern Moravia, located about 1km from Slovakia.

First, just a brief rundown of hockey here in the Czech Republic. The top division is the Extra-Liga. From there you have a national 1. liga, and then you get three regional 2.Liga divisions. This is where Prostějov currently find themselves, in the 2.Liga Východ. For a number of years they were in the 1.liga, but have since found themselves in financial problems. This year, they are fighting to avoid relegation, while Hodonín look like strong favourites for promotion.

Back in the 1994/95 season, Hodonín spent a year in the top division. They were known as Baník Hodonín, back then. However, after a solid mid-table finish, the club fell under financial problems. In 2001, the town of Hodonín built a new arena. It is a fantastic place to watch, as it feels like the crowd is right on top of the players. It is even better now, because Hodonín supporters pack the place game after game.

Now, it appears that there has been some sort of rivalry between the two sets of supporters. Something I was not aware of going into the game last night. The tension between the supporters was obvious. Heavy security was placed in the away section.

For the first two periods, the game was physical and the atmosphere fantastic. Both teams worked hard for every play, and the supporters went back and forth at each other. The hosts were leading 2-0 at the end of the second period, and looked all but certain for the win. The 3rd period was dominated by Hodonín and they ended up running away with a 7-0 victory.

Unfortunately, during the third period, tempers between the fans seemed to reach a boiling point. This was coupled with the fact that the Prostějov supporters clearly did not like seeing their team down by so many goals. Cans of beer were thrown, and then security came into the Prostějov section. This led to lots of pushing. A few minutes later, Hodonín fans broke through the barrier separating the away section. I am not sure what happened after that, as I decided to leave. My train was due to leave in 20 minutes, and I saw no benefit in staying. As I left, I saw riot police waiting at the Prostějov supporters bus. The police also blocked off the street which led to the Prostějov supporters bus on both sides.

I am not sure what happened in the past between the two sets of supporters, but it is obvious they do not really like each other.

January 24th, 2010 - Winter training game - HFK Olomouc "B" 11 Tovačov 1

January 24th, 2010 - HFK Olomouc winter tournament

HFK Olomouc (5th level) "B" 11 Tovačov (7th level) 1

Attendance: 4

Admission: Free

Game rating: 6/10

Distance travelled: 65km

I braved the -10C weather conditions to catch my first football game of 2010. The Gambrinus Liga does not start up again for another month, while the other leagues follow shortly there after.

For the past three years, HFK Olomouc have hosted a winter tournament which runs until mid-February. There are two groups, one for the higher placed clubs, and the other for the lower placed clubs. All games are played on the weekends. Most clubs in the tournament play in the 5th-8th levels. However, the first team of HFK Olomouc (3rd division) does not compete in this tournament.

Only three other people were at the game today, as for most people it was far too cold. However, for this Canadian, it was normal winter temperatures. A few other people came and went throughout the match, but no one stayed. The game was played on the clubs all weather pitch.

HFK Olomouc "B" (5th level) completely dominated Tovačov (7th level) from start to finish. It was clear that the players for HFK trained and played at a higher level. The first half finished 7-1, and with all respect it should have been at least 12-1. The second half was much of the same, with Tovačov only getting past the half way mark on a few occasions. HFK "B" did not let up, as it was a winter training game, they wanted to get as much out of it as possible. In the end, the score flattered Tovačov. I am sure if this game was played during the season, Tovačov would be in better shape, and could compete a little more.

Winter season

The winter off-season is just about here. As such, I won't be going to any games for the next month or so. Winter training matches usually begin the first week of January, so you can expect some updates around then. In the meantime, I will write some posts about games I have been to in the past, in Wales, England, Canada and a few other countries.

November 21st - Gambrinus Liga - Brno 0 České Budějovice 2

November 21st, 2009

Gambrinus Liga

Brno 0 České Budějovice 2

Attendance: 3111 (away support 0)

Admission: 80kc

Game rating: 5/10 (couldn't see much of the 2nd half because of fog)

I've been meaning to get to Brno for the past two years, as it isn't far from where I live. For whatever reason, I never managed to get there until last weekend. Brno is the 2nd largest city in the Czech Republic, but their football club has rarely challenged for the first division title.

The ground is in the north part of the city called Kralovo Pole. It is easiest to reach by taking a tram from the train station for about 20 minutes. From there, it is about a 5 minute walk to the stadium. You can also take trolley bus 32 from the Česká stop, which is located just north of the city centre.

As for the stadium, I'm sure it use to have a larger capacity when it was mostly terraces. It just has a look of a stadium which was renovated. Three sides are open to the elements, so make sure you bring an umbrella if it looks like its going to rain. The stands are set a little further than normal from the pitch. As it stands right now, capacity is around 12,500. Average crowds are probably around 4,000-5,000, which means it can be hard to create an atmosphere. However, the ultras behind one of the goals do their best to create an atmosphere.

The match itself was kind of disappointing, but this had more to do with the fog. It rolled in during the second half, and made viewing the ball in the far end of the pitch nearly impossible. You couldn't even see the stand behind the goal.

České Budějovice were sitting near the bottom of the table going into this game, and desperately needed the three points. However, Brno have been struggling over the past few rounds. They even lost 5-0 away to Sigma Olomouc. The Brno supporters are starting to show their displeasure at these results, and were quite when the final whistle blew and Česke Budějovice defeated their hosts 2-0. All in all, it was not a bad day out.

This weekend is the last round of Gambrinus Liga matches. The lower leagues finished a few weeks back. The first division starts up in a few months, closely followed by the other leagues. However, winter training games starts in January, and I expect to head out to a few games.

November 14th - FIFA Friendly - Macedonia 3 Canada 0

November 14, 2009 - Strumica

FIFA Friendly

Macedonia 3 Canada 0

Attendance: 5,000 (soldout)

Admission: 300mkd

Distance travelled: 3,500km

This game was originally scheduled to be played at the national stadium in Skopje, but the Macedonian FA decided to switch it over to the town of Strumica (50,000). National team games are rarely played outside of Skopje, so this was a big deal for the people of Strumica. It is located in southern Macedonian, about 30km north of Greece and 20km to the west of Bulgaria.

As a Canadian living in the Czech Republic, I made the trip to Macedonia. It was a early morning on Friday, as I had to leave at 5am to get to the Prague airport. From there, I flew to Skopje, and then took a dodgy taxi to the city centre. For anyone who has flown into the Skopje airport, you will know that the taxi cabs are unregulated. So, one must haggle. The first offer was 30 euros, which was ridiculous. I finally found someone for around 18 euros. Once I got to the Skopje bus station, I waited around for the bus to Strumica, which is about 3 hours away (175km).

There were only 2 Canadian supporters at the game, including me. Watching Canada away from home, is certainly not like watching England, Scotland etc where thousands show up. Many of the Macedonians seemed to be surprised that any Canadian supporters were at the game. We had a lot of requests for pictures.

The stadium is about a 10 minute walk north of the city centre. From the outside it looks quite run down, but the stands have recently been renovated. The pitch was in awful shape, thanks to constant rain over the week.

Canada was dominated for most of the first half, even though it ended 0-0. The play was slightly more even in the second half, despite Macedonia scoring three goals. Incredibly, the game had four penalty kicks. Macedonia scored on their two, but Canada missed both of theirs. The visitors couldn't match the size and physical play of the hosts.