Brno Business Like Snow Business

Week 21: FC Zbrojovka 1 - 3 FC Hradec Kralove

As stated before, winter is over. In a country where they stop the football season due to the coldness, one must conclude that the coldness owes it to football to stop once the season resumes. Fair play, as you might call it.

Not the case. Today's game was to be played in an unforgiving temperature with moderate snowfall for good measure. The supporters had to brave the weather today, a testament to commitment and dedication, however one overly dedicated supporter had taken it upon themselves to reserve every seat in the house.

Excuse me, is there anybody sat here?

Well, maybe not. Perhaps as a free gift, every supporter received a complementary inch of snow. But enough about the weather: although I will comment this is the first time I have attended a sporting event anywhere where tea was sold in a 10:1 ratio to beer. 

That said, today's crowd seems to encompass more sections of society than usual. There a noticeably greater number of women and families, and more oldies within the fanbase today. It is Easter Sunday, and I wonder if the two are related?

Maybe it's just the draw of FC Hradec Kralove. Not a team I'm overly familiar with. The name means Castle of the Queen. They had an unremarkable season last year, and currently sit joint-bottom at kick-off. They've acquired one point since the winter break, and were recently on the receiving end of a Milan Baros hat-trick. Baros being the top scorer at Euro 2004, who recently footed Banik Ostrava's wage bill and re-signed for the club on a short term deal.

Constant pressure

Today's game was one of Zbrojovka's more memorable performances of this season. There was a lot of ball retention, and the game was played primarily in Hradec Kralove's territory. Pavel Mezlik, the number 10 in the centre of midfield, had quite a sloppy start but came into the game after the opening twenty minutes or so.

Ultimately, Brno were undone by a shrewd counter-attacking game plan. Hradec Kralove had swift, reactive strikers that made more of the chances than they really should have. They scored three pretty similar goals, and had one or two further decent chances. Brno created more with a good success rate of crosses into the box, and deserved something for their efforts. Victims of a smash and grab today.

Today's away fans - Uncle Tom Supporters Club

The picture is from before kick-off, but there was a reasonable turnout from the away fans. They generated a reasonable atmosphere, although their enthusiasm was boosted by the early lead which they held for the full game. Today's crowd of roughly 1800 did not contest their enthusiasm too boldly. On a slightly disappointing note, I did witness a little bit of skinheadery outside the stadium today. Minor, and seemingly the club appoints like-minded stewards to keep things from spinning too far out of control.

Next week: Jihlava, however a very local away trip has been moved to a Monday evening kick-off which might prevent me from attending. However, Sparta come to Olomouc. Tempting.

A Rainy Night In Brno

Week 19: FC Zbrojovka Brno 0 - 1 SK Slavia Praha

For the second time in two weeks, there's a weekday game. This time, it's more sensibly scheduled for a Friday night. Monday night football may work for the coach potato neutral, but everybody gets down on Friday.

The good news is, I can catch a bus near enough to the office straight to the football stadium. The bad news is, it's intended to shuttle drunk hockey fans to the stadium and keep them out of bother elsewhere. This is my second time making use of this novel, police escorted service.

We arrive safely, however some tool outside the stadium drops a firework directly next to the bus. I'm first out, and thankfully get away with nothing more than a ringing in the ears. Does this count as banter?

Tonight's opponents are SK Slavia Praha. It's fair to say that they're the second most well-known team in the league, and actually have a slightly larger (capacity) stadium than Sparta. They won the league as recently as 2009, but have since been in the doldrums and equally out-of-form this season as Zbrojovka. Tonight's game should be winnable for the good guys.

The self-proclaimed intelligentsia. 

They've also re-acquired Derek Riordan's best mate. Rudi Skacel (pronounced Skaaatsel, as opposed to Skatchel, as oft heard on UK TV). Unfortunately not in the squad for this game, probably since it's not a Scottish Cup tie.

Slavia, then. A pretty good away turnout, considering the kick-off time meant that anyone travelling from the capital

would need to finish work early. It also humours me to see an ultras flag emblazoned with 'SLAVIA INTELLECTUALS'. Okay, then.

I'm forced out of my usual location to seats closer to the away section and the south stand. I'm a little bit closer to the pitch, and I'm appreciating the game more as I am by myself. I'm noticing that the Slavia left-back and left midfield work well in tandem together, and I see that the centre backs of both teams possess pretty good ball control.

Friday Night Lights

Despite a pretty unremarkable game with few chances, Slavia take the lead (and ultimately win 0-1) after the Brno goalkeeper fumbles a tepid, wayward shot into his own net. It's an absolute gift, and incredibly frustrating for the 4100 witnesses.

Yet another tame loss for Brno. Sadly, one of the more memorable moments occurs when the North stand ultras release a huge firework next to a fancy Mercedes within the ground. The sound is ear-shattering, and the smoke rises above the stands. They certainly generate atmosphere, but sometimes....