Will the gap ever close? A foregone conclusion in Uherské Hradiště

 Zero. Nada. Zilch. No, I'm not talking about my current bank balance, but the number of teams promoted to the Czech First League via the play-off system introduced in 2018. Not a single one of the eight FNL teams to have made the play-offs - neither Vysocina Jihlava, Zbrojovka Brno, Opava, Vlasim, Pribram, Vyskov (three times), Taborsko, nor Chrudim - have ever won promotion via the play-off system.

Chrudim and Vyskov came pretty close last season, sure. A contentious VAR call stopped Chrudim from levelling the tie against their groundsharing neighbours, Pardubice, while Dukla Praha needed penalties to keep Vyskov down. When considering the respective plight of both Chrudim (allegedly involved in the match-fixing scandal and currently unable to get a licence for the second tier) and Vyskov (replaced by Pribram, now playing in the sixth tier) a year later, it tells you a lot about what a mess Czech football is in right now.

Add to all of this the fact that nobody has any real idea what the FNL will look like next season - will Ceske Budejovice sort themselves out, saving Jihlava from the drop once again? Will Karvina be demoted for their part in the match-fixing scandal? Will Chrudim, Usti, and Pribram get the licences they need? Will the third tier Bohemian promotion play-off even be necessary at this point, or will both Arsenal Ceska Lipa and Kladno be allowed up?

This is before we even mention the now highly unlikely possibility of Banik losing their play-off to Taborsko and dropping, thus potentially consigning Banik B to the MSFL despite a relatively okay season by their standards. After all, Banik are 3-0 up after the first leg - all they have to do is not lose by three goals at a Taborsko side who, by all accounts, weren't horrendous in the game by any means (EDIT: Taborsko conspired to lose the second-leg 5-0, so maybe they are horrendous). One thing that's clear, however, is that the gap between the First and Second league is palpable. 

Case in point comes from the other play-off between Artis Brno and Slovacko. The first leg promised greatness for twelve minutes from an Artis perspective, as they took the lead in the first-half. It was cancelled out fairly swiftly by an Argentinian named Alan before half-time. Then Slovacko scored three unanswered goals in the second-half to effectively kill the tie before it could even get to Uherske Hradiste. More on this game which I attended to come later on...

Perhaps some encouragement can be taken from how Zlin have performed this season following their promotion via the title last season - a solid mid-table finish that suggests the gap isn't really there for some teams. It would be reasonable to expect a similar level of solidity from Zbrojovka next season with the right investment following their record-equalling promotion this season. 

But then there's the other side of the coin - Dukla Praha, who were only a bad penalty shootout away from giving up their place last season to a Pribram side who - at the time - were in the third tier before having bought Vyskov's licence. And Dukla haven't exactly used that reprise. Though the relegation battle was closer than it usually is, a hapless three own-goal defeat to Banik Ostrava sealed Dukla's fate. 

Chances are, however, that Dukla will be favourites for the title next season. The title hasn't really gone to the wire in a very long time, with one team often running away with the league. The closest it's come to doing so in the last few years is Sigma Olomouc B finishing three points behind champions Dukla Praha in 2024. 

Looking at the other teams in the division next season, nobody can say for sure whether Taborsko will continue to overachieve, or whether Vlasim will take their excellent end of season form into next season and put up some kind of challenge. Will Artis Brno hit the reset button following what they would deem a relatively successful "first year"? There's also Usti, Pribram, Opava, and maybe Zizkov who could be up there, but then it's just as plausible any one of those teams could be fighting the drop.

Anyway, Czech football has a tendency to send you off on a tangent, as this blog was just supposed to be about the play-off second leg in Uherske Hradiste between Slovacko and Artis Brno that I decided to attend. But perhaps given how the play-offs have unfolded this season, as well as all the other crap surrounding Czech football, it's worth the discussion.

Returning to UH: A Baraz on the Border

Any excuse to go to Uherske Hradiste is one that should wholeheartedly be taken, especially when the weather is as glorious as it was on this last day of the month. It was to be the final piece of this season's First League jigsaw, though of course I still have (hopefully) a couple of games remaining before I call an end to my own 2025/26 season.

I had the luxury of booking a last minute train that morning - one which would get me to Stare Mesto for about midday to catch the six minute train to Uherske Hradiste itself. Having been to the town in both blistering heat and freezing conditions, I much preferred the former, so today was a welcome treat weather-wise. The ground was a mere 15 minutes away, so I headed straight there.

There were a few Artis fans, and in fairness despite my disdain for the club in general, they made a noise throughout. That said, it was hard to ignore given that I'd been sat virtually next to the away end. Despite not filling the ground, Slovacko fans made a superb atmosphere, as always tends to be the case whenever I visit. I dare say, they have some of the most passionate fans in the country, and it's probably the most underrated atmosphere in Czech football on a good day.

Sadly for Slovacko, they haven't experienced too many good days this season, nor the previous season in truth. Seemingly gone are the steady days of the early 2020s, in which Slovacko were regularly finishing in the top five and even winning a cup back in 2022. They've had some great European nights too - perhaps none more so than the 2-1 win in Nice back in 2023.

But now, only Artis Brno stood between them and surviving...and in fairness, it may as well have been a series of traffic cones standing between them instead. From the get-go, Slovacko had no interest in resting on their laurels, as Tihomir Kostadinov swept home the opener following a well-worked move. After that first goal, Slovacko made a sub, with Vlastimil Danicek making way for the last time in his career - a respectful guard of honour was a hashtag 'classy touch' for a man who,  by all accounts, is a club legend.

Artis were pretty easy to carve through to be honest, and that's exactly what Michal Travnik did with the second, before Jan Suchan added a third - all of this within the first half an hour. Now 7-1 on aggregate, Artis had the equivalent of ten Everests to climb to even have the faintest hope of getting anything. 

They put up a little bit of fight in the second-half, though this was perhaps Slovacko taking their foot firmly off the gas, and not wanting to carry any injuries on their respective holidays. Honestly the second-half was a bit tedious, which is understandable - the Mexican Wave that continued to creep around the stadium provided most of the entertainment, and surprisingly wasn't the most embarassing thing to happen today - that superlative goes to Artis for their performance.

I took a brief detour to the Slovacke Muzeum (well worth a visit if local culture is your thing), before heading back to the station to catch the same trains back to Brno. Given that I'm very much on a budget currently due to having paid toward the next holiday in two weeks (Latvia baby!), it was a great, cheap day out - 200kc a ticket, as well as around a 226kc return. It was a shame the quicker FlixBus wasn't operating, but there are certainly worse routes to have slightly elongated.

So while we process the madness of the 2025/26 Czech season, here's hoping 2026/27 is just as eventful. Ideally with an unprecedented and unexpected Zbrojovka title win too. A man can dream...