16 Czechoslovakians #9: SK Prostějov
Another long weekend brought with it the potential for another groundhop in a new town. In this instance, a second tier game offered the chance to visit a town known for its fashion industry – Prostějov. The town is also home to one of Czech Republic’s best athletes in tennis star Petra Kvitová.
This
weekend, they would play host to Opava – a side just south of the Polish
border. Both sides have endured a fairly mediocre start, though at this early
stage, things are still fairly tight. A couple of wins for either side could
see them shoot up the table.
Opava will be looking to arrest a torrid run of three defeats, where the hosts will look to build on some impressive back-to-back league wins against Karviná and Líšeň. The formbook only points in one direction, so prediction-wise, I’ll opt for a 2-1 home win, which would break the unwanted 0-0-5 record that Prostějov have against Opava.
Getting
to Prostějov
We left Brno
hlavní nádraží on the 11.18, which got to Prostějov around half twelve, getting
back into Brno around half six. In all honesty, there wasn’t a lot to do in Prostějov,
though often Czech towns are quiet at the weekends. After some decent (and
cheap) beer and food at a microbrewery called U Ječmínka, we headed to the
ground.
The ground had
echoes of the UK non-league scene, demonstrating that you just never know what
kind of ground you’ll get in the Czech second tier. That isn’t to say this as a
negative, as it had character in spades. Oddly enough, it brought the likes of
Cambridge City and Eynesbury Rovers to mind, even with the exterior and surroundings.
Opava also brought a fair few from up north, and they made themselves heard throughout. As tends to be the case, the away fans created the bulk of the atmosphere.
After the
Game
The hosts
went in 1-0 up after a drab first half, but a lively second half saw things end
in deadlock at 2-2. The first half of the second half was pretty manic, but the
game always looked as if it were heading for a draw.
Nonetheless,
Prostějov will have been delighted to end that dreadful run against Opava, though disappointed not to hold either of the leads they took. As
for exploring the town after the game, all we could really do was walk around
the town centre, which was pleasant enough.
We opted to
get the next train home, failing to realise we’d gone to the other
station in Prostějov with only 20 minutes to spare for our train. An exhausting
half-arsed run to the main station later, and we’d made it. The train had
thankfully been delayed five minutes.
Overall, a pleasant town and a ground worth ticking off, though not much beyond that. All that said, it was nice (not nice) to get some unexpected exercise in.
Who are
ya?
Formed in
1904, Prostějov might be the oldest club I’ve covered so far at 118 years. They
play at the 3,500 capacity Stadion Za Místním nádražím, and took part in the Czechoslovak
First League for the first time in 1934, finishing third for two straight
seasons (from 1935-37). During their
pomp, the club even boasted some European pedigree, getting to the quarters of
the Mitropa Cup.
They reached
a first cup final in 1940, losing 5-2 on aggregate to SK Olomouc. The following
season, however, saw the club finish 2nd behind Slavia Prague –
their best domestic finish to this day. After relegation in 1946, the club has
jumped between 2nd, 3rd and 4th tiers, never
making that leap back to the big time.
They were
even forced to accept relegation from the 2.Liga in 2003 due to their stadium,
which failed to meet league requirements. The club were back in the 2nd
tier following their Moravian-Silesian League title success in 2016, but they
went straight back down the following season, amassing just 12 points.
They amassed
over five times as many points in the following season, again retaining the
MSFL crown. The lessons seemed to be learned the following season, with the
club finishing a respectable 9th place. A 3rd placed
finish, in between two 11th placed finished in the last few years
suggest Prostějov are predictably unpredictable.
Given the
relatively small gap between top and bottom right now, a good run of results
could certainly give Prostějov an outside chance of returning to the top flight after almost 80 years
of hurt. Europe could be something of a stretch though…
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