Groundhopping24

After last week's escapade to Mlada Boleslav, this weekend I decided to stay in Brno. Or rather my financial situation decided for me. That said, it was the perfect opportunity to document some of the grounds I haven't yet blogged, such as Dosta Bysrtc this week, Sparta Brno (who I'm yet to actually visit) next week, and Svratka Brno (my former local side) the week after. Following an unplanned Friday night that ended at around 3am, I woke on Saturday morning somewhat worse for wear, pleased that I hadn't planned a trip any further afield. I was also pleased the game was a 4pm kick-off, rather than the occasional 10.15 kick offs that tend to occur in the lower divisions of Czech football. The journey, as ever, was easy enough - straight on the 3 tram from Jugoslavska to Zoologicka Zahrada. To my recollection, this was my fifth visit, with the majority of other visits being to watch Zbrojovka's B-Team. I saw Dosta back in May as they hosted and got battered 4-0 by an...

With a long gap between paydays, I only allowed myself one longer trip until the middle of next month - that being Mlada Boleslav. In my attempts to tick off every ground in the Czech First League, I wanted to get this one out of the way after all I'd heard about it. My expectations were low, with the greatest of respect to the club (who've come on leaps and bounds over the years), and the town. David and Sam of Zbrojovkast (who you should absolutely listen to) both told me the town was essentially a huge car factory. Given that the game against Pardubice would be a Sunday too, everything would be shut, bar the fast-food restaurants and supermarkets. And of course the football stadium from around 12 until 3-ish... Put simply, there was a lot riding on this game being at least semi-decent. I had hoped in my heart of hearts for a repeat of that famous (or infamous) 9-5 nonsense against Zlin last season. That kind of scoreline, however, is probably once in a lifetime. That said, t...

A generous work schedule allowed me a rare midweek Czech game, from which there were two choices, both of which were in the MSFL (the regional third tier). I could either watch Zbrojovka's B team at Srbska as they played host to Blansko, or I could head to Start Brno for a third time, as they played host to divisional new boys Strani. I opted for the latter for convenience reasons, as well as the chance to see a team I've only seen a few times rather than the same old Zbrojovka. I took the 9 tram from Namesti Svobody to the end of the line at Lesna - a peaceful and quaint part of the city that feels more than the mere 15 or 20 minutes away from my apartment nearer the centre. Once you get to the stop at Certovka Rokle (the Devil's ravine), usually you can just follow the exceptionally loud music that Start Brno play before the game. Good luck if you ever want to get a conversation going by the speakers is all I'll say. Of the two previous visits, my first was two years ...

Despite always being against B-Teams in professional leagues and cups, I have to confess having seen two local B-Teams in successive games - Zbrojovka Brno and Líšen. The former earned promotion to the third tier having won their division last season, meanwhile the latter are still in the fourth tier.  To give you a brief overview of the Zbrojovka Brno B game, see my Bosonohy blog from last week - the game was almost eerie in how identical it was to this game. Both games saw a dominant home side somehow find themselves 4-0 down to a more clinical side yet to register a win, before pulling a consolation goal back in return.  The only difference was that Strani hadn't earned a single point, and scored all four goals before  half-time, whereas Bosonohy only went in at half-time a goal down. Even so, it's unusual to see two 4-1 away wins in the same weekend. In today's fixture, Líšen B travel the short distance to fourth tier new boys Kuřim, and so do I from my new ...

Being back in the Czech Republic means having access to Czech football again, which you can see as a positive or a negative, depending on your stance on Czech football. I was quite excited at the prospect of seeing new places (and old), and attempting to write blogs on all of them (if possible), as well as those I see in other countries. I'll probably attend fewer Zbrojovka games, both in terms of the A and B teams, and those that I do cover probably won't be written about. I feel I've covered the club to death since getting to the Czech Republic. I will of course cover any away trips to new grounds, wherever they may be. The first game back would be a local one in the regional fifth tier (Jihomoravsky Prebor) between Bosonohy and Cezava, who I believe are newly promoted to the fifth tier. Not much info exists on them, apart from an article about the Cezava region, which has auto-translated a few place names within to great amusement. Names include, but aren't limited t...

Following a summer in the North East, I still had a couple of days in Stevenage before flying back to Prague from Luton, then taking the onward journey back home to Brno. The choice was either Stevenage v Crystal Palace U23s or Biggleswade United v Baldock Town, and if I'm being honest, it was an easy decision. This is not a slight on Stevenage by any means, who've been fantastic over the last few years. If anything, I'm kind of frustrated that the only possible chance of seeing them this side of Christmas is up against a B-Team in an ultimately meaningless fixture. Give me a ninth tier fixture featuring my adopted non-league side any day.  Both Stevenage and Biggleswade United were reeling to different extents following disappointing results at the weekend, Stevenage perhaps less so given that it was away to a strong Huddersfield side expected to be right up there come the end of the season. Biggleswade United, however, gave up two late goals to crash out of the FA Cup at ...

For most people, the summer is drawing to a close, and while that is also the case for me, it's also onlyjust beginning. Having spent the last seven weeks teaching in Newcastle, as well as in Brno for the previous four months, I was finally getting something resembling a break. Okay, so there is a move involved in that break, but even so, I'll take it. With all that in mind, however, I wanted to make the last groundhop in the North East (at least for the foreseeable future) a memorable one. Enter; Newcastle Blue Star, who would host North Ferriby in the FA Cup Second Preliminary Round - the final round before the First Qualifying Round, which is actually more of a Third Qualifying Round when you think about it. In any case, it was a battle between two sides who went under and reformed quite recently (more on that later), and it promised to be an interesting affair, with the two sides having never met under their current guises. At this stage of the competition, the remaining si...