Brno celebrates victory over their Moravian rivals, Slovacko. Photo: Bruno Zalubil
Brno, October 18 (BD) – Brno Rugby beats host Slavia; mmcite+ third in the league; KP Brno hits the road for EuroCup play; Kometa drop two road games; Lokomotiva improves at Sparta; and the Brno sports schedule.
Perhaps chaos and change is required for a Brno victory. For the second time this fall, Zbrojovka took the field against a traditional rival with a new head coach and for the second time they won. On Saturday, Zbrojovka won the Moravian Derby when by beating 1. FC Slovácko, 2-1.
Zbrojovka is now 2-1-7 through 10 games of the 2017-18 HET Liga. They are 1-0-0 during the Roman Pivarník era.
Earlier, in the season, Zbrojovka beat Sparta Prague in the first game after Svatopluk Habanec was fired and assistants Richard Dostálek and Lukáš Přerost took temporary control of the team. This time Pivarník had about two weeks to prepare the last-place team. It worked.
Zbrojovka came out enthusiastically against Slovácko. They had a few chances from corner kicks in the first 15 minutes, including a powerful header from Francis Koné that was blocked by the Slovácko goalkeeper. In the 47th minute, Michal Škoda and Milan Lutonský worked together in front of the Slovácko goal to get Zbrojovka on the board. Škoda, last year’s leading scorer, got credit for his first goal of the season.
Late in the game, Tomas Pilík, whom Pivarník had just brought on as a substitute, got a breakaway on the left side. Though he held the ball for several extra touches, the veteran midfielder finished the job and put Zbrojovka up by two goals in the 89th minute. Slovácko scored an inconsequential goal just moments before the final whistle was blown.
Pivarník coached at Viktoria Plzeň last season and he will lead Brno, which now has seven points, across the country to play the league-leading team on Sunday at 5 p.m. The new coach, who has a two-year contract, said that his initial goal was to get 16 points before the winter break. It is an ambitious goal, but the number is now down to 13 after earning three points from Slovácko. The remaining five games include home games with Dukla Praha (currently 10th in the standings standings) during the last weekend of October and Teplice (eighth) during the middle weekend of November. Away games include Plzeň (first), Jablonec (fourth), and Jihlava (16th).
RUGBY
Dragons Drop Slavia, 19-33
RC Dragon Brno traveled to Prague and won their first game of the autumn, beating RC Slavia, 19-33.
“Finally success,” said longtime Dragon Nigel Briggs. “The opening half saw us shaking off the journey and losing out in the contact areas but the second half was a different story as Brno took control of the game and were always in the ascendency. Four good tries and some excellent goal kicking ensured the win.”
There will be one more home game against Vyskov before the winter break. Details are to be determined.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
mmcite+ Season: Two Home Wins; Two Road Losses
After an entertaining, high-scoring win over Fio banka J. Hradec on Wednesday, mmcite+ lost in Ostrava on Saturday, leaving them tied for third place in the Kooperativa NBL standings through four games with a 2-2 record.
The Jindrich Hradec game was an impressive performance that served as a good commercial for the excitement that mmcite+ brings to the Brno sports landscape. Captain Jan Tomanec was solid from the field and a perfect 12-for-12 at the free-throw line. He totaled 25 points.
Brian Sullivan led Brno with 28 points. Most of his points came from 3-pointers: he hit six of his nine 3-point attempts, including several from well behind the line. In the fourth quarter, the public address announcer named Sullivan “The American Sniper”; apparently understanding the Czech, Sullivan went on a tear that included 12 of the next 14 Brno points.
Mladen Primorac (15 points) and Radek Pumprla (14) had solid games. Kevin Mays struggled at the free-throw line but scored 12 points and sparked the team several times with his game-high 11 rebounds. In fact, the final Brno points were after Mays missed a free throw, got his own rebound, and then slammed the ball for the 107th and 108th Brno points, much to the delight of the home crowd.
On Saturday, mmcite+ traveled to Ostrava and lost, 85-80. Ostrava was down by a point after three quarters but pulled ahead in the end for its first victory of the season. Primorac had a solid game in the paint for Brno, scoring a team-high 24 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, which was the league high during Week No. 4. Pumprla had his best game of the season; he totaled 22 points, shooting 60 percent from the field and converting eight-of-10 at the free-throw line.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KP Brno Wins Again, Prepares for Travel-Heavy Schedule
KP Brno beat Sokol Nilfisk Hradec Králové, 74-60, on Saturday to keep their form in the Czech league, but they will soon take the road for several important games.
Against Hradec Králové, Gabriela Andělová was 3-for-5 from 3-point range to lead the team with 17 points. Edita Šujanová was 6-of-7 from the 2-point range to add 15 points. Ilona Burgrová and Sarah Beránková both added 12.
On Monday, KP Brno left for Switzerland; they play Fribourg in a EuroCup game tonight (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m. Next Sunday, they return to domestic play up north against SBŠ Ostrava at 4 p.m. Then, they travel to northern Italy to play in Venice next Wednesday at 8 p.m.
Žabiny Brno, who lost to league-leading ZVVZ USK Praha, 86-55, on Saturday, will host Flying Foxes SVP Post tonight (Wednesday) in a CEWL game at 6 p.m.
Technic Brno lost to Slovanka MBX, 61-73, on Sunday. Kamila Selucká led Technic with 18 points.
Through six games of the ZBL season, KP Brno is fifth with a 4-2 record, Basket Žabiny Brno sixth with a 3-3 record and Technic Brno is ninth with a 2-4 record.
HOCKEY
Two Road Losses End Kometa Winning Streak
Kometa’s seven-game winning streak was snapped with road losses at last-place Litvinov on Sunday, 4-3 (overtime shootout) and at HC Oceláři Třinec on Tuesday, 4-1.
The lack of points dropped Brno into a tie with Plzeň atop the league standings with 30 points through 14 games.
In Litvínov, Brno had to score three goals in the third period to get the game into overtime. Then they failed to score in the overtime shootout. In Třinec, Alexandre Mallet scored the only Brno goal during the 29th minute; Kometa was scoreless before and after that mid-game goal.
The losses were in stark contrast to the high the team was riding on Friday when Kometa beat Olomouc, 5-0, for its seventh straight league victory. True to the spread-out Kometa offense, 10 different players earned points from goals or assists. Interestingly, Olomouc actually outshot Kometa, 26-28, but Kometa goalkeeper Marek Čiliak stopped all 28 shots for his first shutout of the season.
In the Champions Hockey League, Kometa has drawn EV Zug of Switzerland in the Round of 16.
The Round of 16 is a two-game, home-and-away series, with the winner determined by aggregate score. The exact dates are to be determined, but the first leg is in two weeks and the second leg will be on Nov. 7.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Four First-Half Goals Sink Lokomotiva Brno
AC Sparta Praha scored four goals in the first half to beat visiting Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice, 4-0, on Sunday.
It was a much better result than when Sparta visited Horni Herspice in the second week of the season, scored four goals in the first half, and won the game 0-7.
Brno is one of five teams with two wins in the eight-team top women’s league. They finish the first half of the season 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.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
- Wednesday, Oct. 11
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno 108, Fio banka J. Hradec 93
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 51, Wasserburg 73 (EuroCup)
- Friday, Oct. 13, 2017
Hockey: Kometa 5, Olomouc 0
- Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017
— Football: Zbrojovka Brno 2, Slovácko 1
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 74, Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové 60; ZVVZ USK Praha 86, Žabiny Brno 55
— Men’s Basketball: NH Ostrava 85, mmcité+ Brno 80
- Sunday, Oct. 15, 2017
— Hockey: Litvínov 4, Kometa 3, overtime shootout
— Women’s Basketball: Technic Brno 61, Slovanka MB 73
— Women’s Football: AC Sparta 4, Lokomotiva Brno Horni Herspice 0
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- Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017
— Hockey: Oceláři Třinec 4, Kometa 1
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. 18, 2017
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): Fribourg X KP Brno, 7:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball (CEWL): Basket Žabiny Brno X Flying Foxes SVP Post, 6 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.
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- Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2017
— Women’s Basketball (EuroCup): Venezia X KP Brno, 8 p.m.
- Friday, Oct. 27, 2017
— Hockey: Kometa X Zlín, DRFG Arena, 6 p.m.
- Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017
— Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Dukla Praha, 5 p.m.
— Men’s Basketball: USK Praha X mmcité+ Brno, 5:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno X Technic Brno, 4:30 p.m.
— Women’s Football: Lokomotiva Brno H. H. X FC Slovan Liberec, 11 a.m.
- Sunday, Oct. 29, 2017
— Hockey: Chomutov X Kometa, 3:30 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: U19 Chance X Žabiny Brno, 5 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.
