The new-coach, Roman Pivarník, leads Zbrojovka into another big game. Photo: FCZ Brno
Brno, October 11 (BD) – KP Brno begins EuroCup play tonight and Zabiny beats Technic in Brno basketball rivalry; mmcite+ plays at home tonight; Kometa stay atop the domestic league standings; Lokomotiva rally falls short against Slovácko; Brno Rugby struggles; and the Brno sports schedule.
For the second time during this young season, Zbrojovka football will take the field with a new head coach. The last time, after Svatopluk Habanec was fired in August after just four league games, assistants Richard Dostálek and Lukáš Přerost led the team to a momentous victory over Sparta Prague.
This time, new-coach Roman Pivarník will lead the team into another big game: the Moravian Derby.
Zbrojovka hosts 1. FC Slovácko on Saturday at 5 p.m. Tickets purchased before game day or online are 150 Kč. Tickets purchased on the day of the game at Sbrska stadium are 200 Kč.
Pivarník, a Slovak, coached at Viktoria Plzeň last season. He will be on the sideline this Saturday and then return to Plzeň next week with a two-year contract to coach Brno. He has spent the past week and a half getting to know his new team. His initial goal is to get 16 points in the remaining six games of the first half of the Het Liga season; Zbrojovka currently has only four points through nine games.
The more immediate goal is to beat Slovácko. For some fans, victory over the team from Uherské Hradiště is the most important result of every season. Slovácko is based 75 km to the east and over the past several years an important rivalry has been established with many memorable moments, not the least of which being the legendary Oct. 24, 2010 game when Zbrojovka scored goals during the 10th, 27th, 32nd, 34th, 56th, 64th, and 83rd minutes to beat Slovácko, 7-0.
This game against Slovácko is important but only one part of the overall rebuilding process that Pivarník has planned.
“I do not want to use the word key, because every match will be crucial for us,” Pivarník said during his initial press conference. “The plan is to manage matches at home. Points from away games are plus.”
The remainder of the fall season has only two more home games: Dukla Praha (currently ninth in the standings standings) during the last weekend of October and Teplice (seventh) during the middle weekend of November. Away games include Plzeň (first), Jablonec (fourth), and Jihlava (15th).
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KP Brno Builds Momentum, Hosts EuroCup Game Tonight
KP Brno has won it last three ZBL games, including a solid 63-109 road victory over U19 Chance on Sunday, to gain confidence for their first EuroCup game tonight: Wasserburg of Germany comes to town with a tipoff at 6 p.m.
Against U19 Chance on Sunday, Brno was an impressive 35-for-52 from 2-point range. Veronika Remenárová led the way with 19 points. Edita Šujanová (16 points), Ilona Burgrová (14), and Verlíková Monika (12) reached double digits. All 11 Brno players scored at least six points.
KP Brno, which finished third in the domestic league last year, are in a EuroCup group with teams from Venice (Italy) and Fribourg (Switzerland), in addition to Wasserburg (Germany). There will be home and away games with each over the next few months.
Zabiny Overpower Technic in All-Brno Match-up
Anyone who doubts the bruising and aggressive nature of women’s basketball, has clearly never watched a rivalry game between two Brno teams. Technic Brno and visiting Žabiny Brno played each other tough last Wednesday— with many fouls, hard blocks and angled shoulders — then both teams shook hands afterwards. Žabiny Brno won, 58-97.
Both teams entered the game 2-1 through the first three games of the ZBL season and it was close midway through the first period. However, Technic committed many fouls and watched the Žabiny slowly take the lead at the free throw line. By the end of the first 10 minutes, Technic had been called for 10 fouls and Žabiny only four. During the second quarter, the Žabiny really turned it on, jumping to a 38-15 lead, with three 3-pointers — by Klára Křivánková, then Jana Hausknechtová and then Křivánková again — to effectively ice the game. Technic was never able to cut into the deficit despite settling into a competitive level of play.
Later in the week on Saturday, both teams had trouble. BLK Slavia Praha beat visiting Technic Brno, 116-45 and Žabiny could not hold off DSK Basketball Nymburk, losing at home 66-86.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcite+ Hosts J. Hradec Tonight at 7
mmcite+ Brno tips off at 7 p.m. tonight against visiting Fio banka J. Hradec in the third round of the Kooperativa NBL.
Brno, which opened the season by beating Kolín at home, is 1-1 in the young season.
On Sunday, Brno was not able to mount another fourth-quarter rally at SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem and lost, 81-69. The game was close, but Ústí nad Labem was able to convert free throws to grow their lead in the waning moments.
Brno guard Brian Sullivan scored 30 points in Ústí nad Labem. He was 5-of-10 from 3-point range as he and post Mladen Primorac (19 points) led the Brno offense. Only five Brno players scored.
HOCKEY
Kometa Tops in League, No. 2 Seed in Champions Hockey League
Kometa will take a six-game Tipsport Extraliga winning streak into their game on Friday against Olomouc, but their overall run of victories came to an end when they lost 3-0 in Malmö on Tuesday.
Kometa and Malmö were both guaranteed to advance in the Champions Hockey League, but Malmö won the final game of the initial stage of the tournament to be the first seed out of Group B. Kometa, which had three overtime wins, was the second seed despite only actually losing in this final game. The schedule for the playoff round of the tournament is yet to be announced.
Domestically, Kometa are atop the league standings with 26 points. They maintained their position when Martin Erat scored in the first minute of extra time to beat host and second-in-the-standings, Plzen, 4-5, on Sunday. Erat also scored in the 22nd minute and assisted on another goal.
Through 11 games, Erat has five goals and 12 assists and leads the team with 17 points.
On Friday in a rematch of last year’s championship series, Kometa scored four goals in a 10-minute pan during the third period to beat Liberec, 7-2. The scoring onslaught was mostly driven by Marcel Haščák. Haščák scored during the 44th and 45th minutes, then assisted Vojtěch Němec in the 52nd minute. Erat had a goal and three assists.
The game against Olomouc on Friday starts at 6 p.m. Then, Brno travels on Sunday to Litvínov for a 5:30 p.m. start.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Brno Shows Improvement In 2-3 Loss to Slovácko
It was much closer in the second women’s Moravian Derby, but Slovácko added to their 0-1 halftime lead and held on to beat Lokomotiva Brno in Horni Herspice on Saturday, 2-3.
Slovacko extended their lead early in the second half, but Kateřina Vojtková put Horni Herspice on the board three minutes later. Slovácko scored again before Hana Ducháčková added a second for Brno in the 73rd minute. The home team could not tie the game in the final minutes of the game.
The result was much better than the 6-1 opening-round loss Lokomotiva suffered in Uherské Hradiště in mid-August.
Lokomotiva has only three games left in the autumn half or the season. Sunday, they travel to second-place AC Sparta Praha for a game that starts at 3:30 p.m. They finish with two important home games: against FC Slovan Liberec on Oct. 28 and against FK Dukla Praha on Nov. 4. Lokomotiva won 1-3 in Liberec in late August and lost 3-1 at Dukla in early September. The season continues in late February.
RUGBY
Dragons Finish Disappointing Autumn Cup Schedule
RC Dragon Brno lost to visiting RC Sparta Praha 15-52 on Saturday.
“Well-beaten by a large physical side,” reported Brno’s Nigel Briggs. “For long periods of the game Brno more than matched this expensively-acquired team from Prague but lapses in concentration cost dearly. Several injuries didn’t help or some yellow cards but not a complete disaster.”
The Brno rugby team are 0-6 in the Autumn Cup. Sparta, on the other hand, has five wins and a tie.
The Dragons play at Slavia this week. They will have a final home game against Vyskov. Details are to be determined.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
- Wednesday, Oct. 4
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 75, Slovanka MB 54; Technic Brno 58, Žabiny Brno 97
- Friday, Oct. 6, 2017
— Hockey: Kometa 7, Liberec 2
- Saturday, Oct. 7
— Rugby: RC Dragon Brno 15, RC Sparta Praha 52
— Women’s Basketball: BLK Slavia Praha 116, Technic Brno 45; Žabiny Brno 66, DSK Basketball Nymburk
86
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice 2, 1. F Slovacko 3
- Sunday, Oct. 8
— Hockey: Plzeň 4, Kometa 5 (extra time)
— Men’s Basketball: SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem 81, mmcité+ Brno 69
— Women’s Basketball: U19 Chance 63, KP Brno 109
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- Tuesday, Oct. 10
— Hockey: Malmö 3, Kometa 0 (Champions League)
BRNO SPORTS SCHEDULE
The schedule for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the next two weeks. All dates and times subject to change. Home team listed first (when applicable).
- Wednesday, Oct. 11
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno X Fio banka J. Hradec, 7 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Wasserburg, 6 p.m. (EuroCup)
- Friday, Oct. 13, 2017
Hockey: Kometa X Olomouc, DRFG Arena, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017
— Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Slovácko, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové, 3:30 p.m.; ZVVZ USK Praha X Žabiny Brno, 5 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: NH Ostrava X mmcité+ Brno, 5:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017
— Hockey: Litvínov X Kometa, 5:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Technic Brno X Slovanka MB, 5 p.m.
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- Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017
— Hockey: Oceláři Třinec X Kometa, 5 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 20, 2017
— Hockey: Kometa X Mountfield HK, DRFG Arena, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno X DEKSTONE Tuři Svitavy, 7 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové X Technic Brno, 4 p.m.; Žabiny Brno X BA K. Vary, 5 p.m.
- Sunday, Oct, 22, 2017
— Hockey: Ml.Boleslav X Kometa, 5:30 p.m.
— Football: Viktoria Plzeň X Zbrojovka Brno, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: SBŠ Ostrava X KP Brno, 4 p.m.
The Brno Sports Report is published every Wednesday. All dates and times are subject to change. Most of the stories are about the traditional “English-speaking” team sports — football, hockey, baseball, basketball, American football, rugby, etc. — but it is also about the interesting local spectator and participation sports — tennis, badminton, running, horse racing, swimming, rock climbing, biking, etc. If you have any suggestions for what should be included, please comment below or send an email to brnosports@gmail.com.
