This is Sparta Brno: Sparta Brno 2-1 Svratka Brno

Ah, the Přebor Jihomoravského kraje - everyone's favourite South Moravian regional fifth tier. Ignore the fact it's the only one, but this is the league which - to date - I've spent the majority of my time watching this season. 

Perhaps I'm one of few who can boast trips to East Fife and Bosonohy in the same month - how much you can boast about that is another matter. That said, the standard of fifth tier Czech football is what you would expect, though there is almost always some degree of entertainment. 

This week's JMKP groundhop was a Saturday morning trip to another club within the city limits of Brno that I'd been yet to tick off the list, Sparta Brno. Having browsed through the results of Sparta Brno last season, I'd noticed both games between Sparta Brno and my former local side, Svratka Brno, had ended in six and seven goal thrillers respectively.

I tempered my expectations, expecting it to finish goalless, though as you can see from the title, there were at least a few goals to write home about. That said, it could have easily been another multi-goal thriller given the back-and-forth nature of the game, and the fact that Svratka should have been out of sight in the second-half.

The odd thing was, Peterborough v Stevenage later that afternoon, which I'd watched on iFollow, was a carbon copy, with Stevenage squandering enough chances to win and being sucker punched at the end, just as Svratka Brno had been, albeit slightly earlier than the last kick of the game as in Stevenage's case.

Sparta took a fairly early lead in the first-half, having been the better side throughout. They went in at half-time a goal to the good - deservedly so, even if Svratka offered glimpses of what they were about. This was a top of the table clash at this early stage of this JMKP season, and you could see why both sides were up there. Givent that Kurim advanced last season and have started their season in the fourth tier brilliantly, Sparta and Svratka are just two of many keen to follow suit.

After the break, Svratka began to dominate, barely giving Sparta a look in as the rain started to play a part. The away side finally broke through, before having three other golden opportunities. They were unable to take them, as Sparta stole the win in the 80th minute. Subequently, Sparta now go top of the JMKP at the time of writing, giving themselves a three-point cushion over Boskovice-Letovice, who themselves lost 2-1 at home to Tatran Rousinov.

As for the ground itself, it's your bog standard Czech non-league ground with just the one miniscule stand, though there is a nice pub balcony on which you can watch the game under the protection of some umbrellas. There were a healthy number of fans in attendance from both sides, but the locals were the happier of the two come 12.15pm.

It's also easy enough to get to from the centre - you just take the 12 to Komarov and hop off at the terminus. From there, it's a short walk to the ground.

The only disappointment was the weather, watching Stevenage lose a few hours later, and watching Zbrojovka lose a few hours after that (I'm writing this before the Zbrojovka game by the way - let's see if I'll need to change it).* 

Five things you didn't know about Sparta Brno

1.) In 1934, Sparta Brno were the first ever Czechoslovak team to play on the African continent, even defeating the Algerian national team by a goal to nil.

2.) The club initially formed under the name Ruda Hvezda Brno, which translates as Red Star Brno in Czech. The club then changed to Sparta Brno - a moniker they've had for a large chunk of their existence. They were known as Spartak Brnenska in 1955, but they were back as Sparta Brno in 1989.

3.)  Joint with SK Bosonohy, Sparta Brno are the 2nd longest serving side in the JMKP, having both been there since 2012. Only Olympia Rajecko have been in the division longer, having been in thd division since 2002! Technically Sparta won the league during a pandemic-impacted season, though this was only after nine games.

4.) The district in which Sparta Brno plays, Komarov, translates as Mosquitoes in English. The history behind the place name is fairly unclear.

5.) As well as their much bigger and more successful namesakes, Sparta Praha, Sparta Brno also share this moniker with another club from a top ten European league, Sparta Rotterdam. Sparta is a reference to the Greek city of Sparta, famous for its discipline and miltary prowess.

* Okay, they didn't lose, but they bottled a two goal lead to draw at home to Vlasim, so...yeah...

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