I do 'The Dew' - A dive into the MSFL

As with last week’s trip to Chrudim, this weekend brought with it another amusing auto-translation courtesy of third-tier outfit Slovan Rosice. Where Chrudim had generated ‘I cringe’, Rosice automatically translates to ‘the dew’. How accurate is it? Not the foggiest…

Okay, bad jokes aside (impossible in many ways), this was to be one of few trips to watch a third-tier game, given that the weekend brought with it the inevitable March international break. So I spent it in Rosice, still glowing from Jamie Reid’s debut international goal on Friday night.

The mighty dew would play host to struggling Uhersky Brod, though only five points separated the two teams prior to kick-off - 16th to 18th are relegated from the MSFL, with Uhersky occupying 16th and Slovan up in 13th. So while neither were on course for the second tier anytime soon, it still had the potential to be an interesting match-up.

That said, their last match-up ended goalless in Uhersky Brod back in August. Otherwise it’s a fairly even record of three Slovan wins (a 0-1 away win in August 2019, and two 2-1 wins on my mum’s birthday in both 2023 and 2022 - just what she would have wanted I’m sure), three draws (two goalless and a 1-1 in November 2022), and two Uhersky Brod victories (0-2 in May 2017, and their last a 1-0 success in October 2020).

So in doing the dew, do I doo doo everything the teams do? Of course I do. Well,definitely in the case of Uhersky Brod, who were pretty horrendous. Slovan were dominant from the get-go, with Dominik Moučka opening the scoring with a superb driving effort from outside the box 17 minutes in.

Three minutes later, Patrik Goj doubled the advantage, before the excellent Moučka grabbed a second after half an hour. Just before half-time, Adam Fila made it even worse for the away side with a fourth - chants of co to k*rva je? (what the f- is that?) rang out from the few away fans that made the trip north. They were in full voice throughout, occasionally taking their shirts off for whatever reason.

That was to be that. A drab second-half saw the game peter out, in a game the elements threatened to dominate. Everything about Rosice had brought Annan Athletic to mind. Not only did the town itself bear some similarities, but both Slovan and Annan play in yellow, they both occupy the lower end of the third tier, and to make things feel even more Scottish, the weather was shite for the duration of the game.

In any case, the win saw Slovan move up to the lofty heights of 12th. Meanwhile, Uhersky Brod remain 2nd from bottom, with the game at home to Zlin B next week looking huge. There is still a long way to go given the sheer duration of the mid-season break, but Slovan may well start looking up rather than over their shoulder.

What is happening in the third tier of Czech football?

Whether this game counts towards ‘non-league day’, which it apparently was in the UK, I’m not quite sure. That said, regionalisation surely means a league is ‘non-league’, right? In any case, the Czech third tier is, perhaps appropriately, split into three disparate leagues.

This game took place in the MSFL (Moravian-Silesian Football League), which includes teams from the eastern part of the Czech Republic. Top of this league currently are Karvina B, whose promotion would complicate matters if their A-team are relegated from the top division. Banik Ostrava B lie in 2nd, with Zlínsko, Uničov, and Znojmo also battling for promotion to the second tier.

Whoever is best placed for promotion in this league will be up without a play-off, though the two ČFL groups will battle it out in a play-off for the 2nd promotion spot. Currently top of Group A are Slavia Prague B, who lead the way by four points having played a game more than nearest rivals Domažlice.

As for Group B, Slovan Velvary are running away with things, meaning a play-off between them and Slavia B is looking most likely for that final promotion spot. In many ways, it resembles the Highland and Lowland league play-off in Scotland, in which one team’s hard work all season ultimately amounts to nothing. 

As mentioned, it’s still a long way to go, with the third tier culminating in June rather than May like most divisions. Even the second tier will be finished by the time the third-tier concludes, so things could conceivably change a lot by then. 

As for Slovan Rosice, they finished in their highest ever position last season (3rd in the third tier). While a repeat isn’t happening anytime this season, it’s a club certainly capable of following the likes of Líšeň into the 2nd tier.