January 25, 2014 - Prostějov 5 Přerov 4

January 25, 2014
Prostějov 5 Přerov 4 - 3rd division - 150-200 from Přerov
Attendance - 2300

An important win for Prostějov, as they are now 5pts clear of Poruba for first place.  The atmosphere was fantastic with constant chanting from both supporters.  There were not any major problems, just a minor altercation at the end of the game between a few fans.

Doubrava Haňovice

Haňovice is a small village of around 475 people located roughly 20km northeast of Olomouc and 200km from Prague.  I decided to make a rather short 'football' related trip the last week of December and thought that Haňovice was a good option.  I took a train to the village of Myslechovice, which is right beside Haňovice.  The bad thing about the trip was the it took 1 hour and 15 minutes, with a 20 minute stop in Senice.  All of this for just 30km of travel.  The train seemed to stop every 3-5 minutes.

The local football side currently plays in the 7th tier of football (Olomoucký Kraj - 1 B třída, skupina B) , but as recently as the 2009/10 season they were in the 6th tier.  The football pitch is about a 15 minute walk from the Myslechovice stop, and is located about 300m down a dirt road which leads into the woods.

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.