December 7, 2013 - 3rd div handball - Prostějov 31 Kuřim 29

December 7, 2013
3rd division handball
Prostějov 31 Kuřim 29
Attendance -65

Handball is not my favourite sport, but it is interesting enough to watch.  It has always been a decent option during the football winter break.

November 15, 2013 - Czech Republic 2 Canada 0

November 15, 2013 (in Olomouc)
Czech Republic 2 Canada 0
Attendance - 9500

When this game was announced in mid-October, I couldn't have really believed my good fortune.  I am Canadian and I was once a huge Canadian soccer supporter.  I still am, but following them over the past few years has taken a back seat to many other things.  Since 2002, I have seen Canada play in Scotland (2002), Costa Rica (2004), Luxembourg (2005), Austria (2006), Hungary (2006), and Macedonia (2009).  I have spent a lot of money following Canada, and now they were playing only 15km from my new home.

I didn't expect there to be many Canadian supporters at the game, and I was correct.  There were some random Canadian fans scattered around the stadium and quite a few Czech people who seemed to have been supporting Canada.  All in all, there were probably only 5-10 fans at the game.  The atmosphere was beyond horrendous, but that was kind of expected as the game didn't mean much to the Czech Republic, and it was just a friendly.  Canada has a new coach, Benito Floro, and he used the game to try out a few new players.  They were a little unlucky not to score a goal (missed PK), and had a decent run of play in the second half.  However, it was the Czech Republic that managed to capitalize on their chances.

In the end, I wasn't too disappointed because I probably now support the Czech Republic as much as I do Canada.

Novmeber 2nd, 2013 - Dub nad Moravou 3 Haná Prostějov 2

November 2nd, 2013
Olomoucký Kraj - 1 A třída, skupina B (6th tier)
Dub nad Moravou 3 Haná Prostějov 2
Admission - 20kc
Attendance - 75

This is the second year Haná has played in the 1 A třída, skupina B, but I was unable to get to Dub nad Moravou last year, so I made a point of it this year.  Dub has a population of 1,600 people and it made headline news about 10 years ago, for all the wrong reasons, when a 75 year old priest was murdered outside of his church.

The village is only about 15km from Prostějov, but unfortunately there were not any direct buses from Prostějov at the time I needed to leave.  So, I had to go to Olomouc, walk to a bus stop, and from there take another bus to Dub.  All in all, it took about 75 minutes.  The way back was not any easier, as I had to take a bus to a village called Blatec where I caught the train back to Prostějov.

The football pitch is about a 5 minute walk from the centre of the village.  The facilities were decent, at least for this level.  There is a small covered seated stand which seats about 50 people, and park benches lining one side of the pitch.

Both sides going into the game near the bottom of the table, so it was perhaps the most important match of the season.  Dub nad Moravou had a better run of it in the 2nd half and in the end probably deserved the three points.

October 19, 2013 - Klenovice na Hané 4 Haná Prostějov 3

The old train station in Čelcice which is no longer open to the public.

On the way to Klenovice

October 19, 2013
Olomoucký Kraj - 1 A třída (6th division)
Klenovice na Hané 4 Haná Prostějov 3
Attendance - 90

Another year, and another trip to Klenovice na Hané, a small village of 900 people located about 10km south of Prostějov.  As usual, I took a short train ride to Čelcice and walked 2km to Klenovice.

Klenovice is a footbal side which always seems to be close to getting things right.  They have a nice stadium, for the level, and always have a young talented side.  However, they never seem able to get over the final hurdle and win promotion to the 5th tier Olomoucký Krajský Přebor.  They are currently in 2nd place, only two points behind Opatovice-Všechovice.  It looks like this year could be their year, with a little help of the players on loan from SK Prostějov.

Haná had to use two B team players this year, and one 16 year old because they did not have enough players.  Klenovice were younger, faster, but Haná are more experienced and played a smart game.  In the end though, it was not enough for the visitors, as Klenovice picked up the three points.

Stadion SK Hranice

I took some pictures of the main stadium of SK Hranice before the Hranice B vs Haná Prostějov game a few weeks back.

October 5, 2013 - Hranice B 4 Haná Prostějov 0

October 5, 2013
Olomoucký Kraj - 1 A třída (6th division)
Hranice B 4 Haná Prostějov 0
Attendance - 20

This was my second trip to Hranice na Moravé as my first trip was in 2002 to watch a Czech Cup game between Sigma Olomouc and Hranice.  The the time, Hranice were playing in the 3rd division.  I do not remember much from the game, but I believe Sigma won 2-0 and only a few other Sigma supporters made the short trip to Hranice.

Czech Cup game from 2002

Czech Cup - Hranice vs Sigma in 2002

My trip a few weekends ago was easy enough, but it took a little long to travel 70km by train.  I had to go from Prostějov-Olomouc-Hranice na Moravě.  Hranice is a town of 18,000 people and looks to be a decent place for a short tourist visit, if you like that kind of thing.  Unfortunately, if you are coming by train, the walk from the main train station to the football stadium is about 3-4km.  It could be possible to take a weekend city bus, but they might not run that often.  The stadium is across the river, and if you are travelling without the help of a map, you will definitely need to stop to ask for directions.  There are not many signs leading to the football stadium.

The second negative of the weekend was that the game was played on an artificial pitch next to the main stadium.  The quality of the pitch was okay for an artificial one, but it can never replace grass.  The third negative was the main stand.  It reminded me of the temporary bleachers so often found in North America.  This one was not in the best of condition, and looked like it had had better days

The fourth negative was the actual game.  The hosts had a few Divize (4th division) players, which clearly made a huge difference. Haná never had their heads in the game, thanks to a few unfortunate calls by the referee.  Everything just went downhill after a 50/50 penalty call against Haná early in the game.  Hranice B scored, and from there on in, never looked like they would drop any points.  The guests collected 8 yellow cards, and 1 red for their efforts.  A number of yellow cards were for yelling and complaining to the referee.  Attendance was only around 20 people and at kick off there were only 5 people.

As a Haná supporter, it was a game I will want to forget.