April 19, 2014 - Červenká 1 Maletín 5

April 19, 2014
Olomoucký Kraj - 1 B třída - 7th tier
Červenká 1 Maletín 5
Attendance - 150

Červenka is a small town of 1400 people located 20km northwest of Olomouc and 200km east of Prague.  As far as I can tell, it really is not known for anything.  It is just your average town in the Czech Republic.  It is reached quite easily by train.  You can take the OS slow train which takes about 20 minutes, or the occasional R fast train which heads to Prague.

The football pitch is located on the far side of the town towards Litovel.  It is about a 10 minute walk from the train station.  When I was there, I could not find many pubs, which was a surprise.  I eventually found one, and I was the only one sitting in the beer garden.  The beer was of course Litovel.

After a quick beer, I headed to the football stadium.  For a 7th tier side, it was actually pretty good.  A few years back Červenká played in the 6th tier.  There was one covered stand with seating for about 50-100 people.  Opposite were picnic benches and tables.  This is where the majority of the people stayed during the game because it was close to the BBQ fish and beer.

The game was quite entertaining as Maletín are the high flyers in the league sitting in first place, and the hosts are in last place.  Maletín ran all over them in the first half and had a 4-0 lead.  It seemed in the second half they took it down a notch and just ran out the game.

April 6, 2014 - Haná Prostějov 2 Čechovice B 0

April 6, 2014
Okresní Přebor Prostějov
Haná Prostějov 2 Čechovice B 0

Early last week, Haná Prostějov announced that they were pulling their A team out of the Olomucký Kraj 1 A třída because lack of players.  This was a huge shock to me, as I was already looking forward to the trip to Hlubočky and the first game in 4.5 months because of the winter break.  I knew Haná did not have many players, but they always managed to get a competitive team together.  For me, it is a big shame they could not even get a few players together to give it a go.

So, instead of watching 6th tier football, I will now be watching 8th tier for the rest of the season.  It is only a difference of two divisions, but I think there is a decent gap between the quality of players. Haná will have only one team next year, and they will play in either the 7th or 8th division.

As for the above game, Haná won against their local rival, but it was still a bitter pill to swallow.  Despite my disappointment, at least their still is a team to follow.

October 12, 2006 - Midland Football Alliance (England) - Friar Lane & Epworth vs Market Drayton

October 12, 2006
Midland Football Alliance (9th division)
Friar Lane & Epworth vs Market Drayton

I lived in England for two years from 2005 to 2006, and I adopted Friar Lane & Epworth as my local side.  I picked them because their ground was only about 1km from where I lived.  In 2005, they were playing in the 11th division, but they won the league and were promoted to the Midland Football Alliance for the following season.  I attended almost every home and away game during my two years.

Friar Lane & Epworth averaged 50-150 fans a game, so they weren't the best supported club in Leicester.  They are now back in the Leicestershire Senior League, while Market Drayton are now playing in the Northern Premier League Division One South (division 8).

Friendly - Feb 22, 2014 - Určice 4 Blansko 0

Feb 22, 2014
Friendly in Prostějov
Určice 4 Blansko 0
Attendance - 30

Another friendly in Prostějov, but at least this time it was a game under the lights, which is a rather rare treat in this city.  Both teams play in the 4th tier, Blansko in Divize D, and Určice in Divize E.  As such, the game was of decent quality, even though it was just a friendly.

Feb 16, 2014 - Friendly - SK Prostějov U19 5 Čechovice 0

February 16, 2014 - Friendly
SK Prostějov U19 5 Čechovice 0
Attendance - 45

SK Prostějov U19 play in the 2nd level of football for U19 in the country, so it was not a huge surprise that they easily defeated a Čechovice who play in the 6th division (men).