FC Zbrojovka wins the Tipsport Winter League trophy. Credit: Zbrojovka
Brno, January 31 (BD) – Kometa downs Sparta with late dramatic goals, KP Brno continues winning streak, mmcité+ Brno takes tough loss, and the Brno sports schedule.
Brno Sports Weekly Report
by Bruno Zalubil
The HET Liga season is still more than two weeks away, but FC Zbrojovka Brno has been consistently putting together an encouraging line of successes.
During the winter, Zbrojovka has rolled through their preparation games, beating Pardubice (3-1), Znojmo (1-0), Vyškov (1-6), MFK Skalica (1-0) and Nitra (2-0).
In the Tipsport Winter League, Zbrojovka beat Frýdek-Místek, 2-4, to advance to the finals and, last Thursday, beat Bohemians 1905, 0-2, in Prague to win the trophy. Miloš Kratochvíl put Brno in the lead with a direct kick in the 70th minute. Lukáš Vraštil added the second goal a few minutes before the end of the game.
Brno also beat Austria Vídeň, 2-0, on Tuesday. Konstantin Bazeljuk, the team’s new Russian striker, scored both goals.
The team leaves for Turkey for focused training later this week.
HET Liga play resumes on Feb. 17 when Zbrojovka travels to Bohemians 1905 for a 6:30 p.m. game. The first home game will be Feb. 24 against Olomouc; kick off is 3 p.m. On Sunday, March 4, Zbrojovka will travel to Sparta for a 6 p.m. start. Zbrojovka is in 12th place in the 16-team league after the first half of the season.
HOCKEY
Late Flurry of Kometa Goals Beats Sparta
Within 21 seconds of game time, Kometa beat Sparta, 3-4, and brought renewed life to their season on Tuesday night in Prague.
First, Martin Erat sent the game into extra time with just six seconds left in regulation time. Then, just 15 seconds into extra time, Martin Nečas got behind the Sparta Praha defense and had a free line to the goal: His nicely placed shot into the upper right corner of the net was the winning blow.
It felt like a bit of the magic that helped Kometa dominate the postseason last year en route to the league championship.
The 19-year-old Nečas also scored in the seventh minute of the game. He has four goals in five games so far in 2018 and eight goals in 18 league appearances this season.
Earlier in the week, Kometa had ended a modest three-game losing streak, by beating Aukro Berani Zlín, 3-1, on Friday, scoring a goal in each period. On Sunday, however, they were unable to get past Piráti Chomutov, losing 2-1 on the far side of the country.
There are only six regular-season games left. Kometa plays at Dukla on Friday at 5:30 p.m.; they host Pardubice on Sunday at 5 p.m.; and they travel to Vítkovice on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. After a three-week break for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, league play will resume on Wednesday, Feb. 28, when Kometa will host league-leading Plzeň at 6 p.m. The postseason will begin in early March.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
KP Brno takes fourth in a row; Žabiny scare undefeated Praha
KP Brno continued its 2018 winning streak by going on the road to beat Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové, 69-74, on Saturday. The fourth straight win moved KP Brno into third place in the ZBL standings.
“Our team has earned this victory,” said KP Brno coach David Zdeněk (translated from Czech), who’s squad withstood a late charge by the home team. “Hradec came back at the end of the game, but we did not break and we turned the game back to our side.”
Gabriela Andělová led Brno (12-5) with 19 points.
Žabiny Brno hosted league-leading ZVVZ USK Praha and lost, 60-78.
Žabiny (9-7) outscored Praha (17-0), 31-24, in the second and third quarters. Whitney Bays was 7-for-14 from the field and led Brno with 18 points.
“We were able to play a really balanced game against a top-caliber team like ZVVZ USK Praha,” said Žabiny head coach Viktor Pruša. “I even thought for a moment that we could pull off a miracle. I’m very happy and I think the girls are to be congratulated. They’ll get (some momentum) from this.”
Technic Brno traveled to Slovanka MB on Sunday and lost, 88-67. Tereza Zítková led Technic with 20 points. She was 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Top team doubles up mmcité+ Brno
mmcité+ Brno ran into a buzz saw on Saturday when they hosted undefeated league-leaders ČEZ Basketball Nymburk and lost, 102-49.
Brno put up a lot of 3-pointers to try to cut into the deficit, but they made only 5 of 25 attempts. They had an only slightly better conversion rate from closer in, going 10-for-30 from 2-points range.
Brno (6-13) scored only six points in the third quarter and 17 in the second half. Nymburk (19-0) consistently scored in the 20s in every quarter.
mmcité+ Brno travels to BK Opava on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game. They return to Brno to face BK JIP Pardubice for a Wednesday night game at 8 p.m.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Friday, Jan. 26, 2018
— Hockey: Kometa 3, Zlín 1
Saturday, Jan. 27, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno 49, ČEZ Basketball Nymburk 102
— Women’s Basketball: Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové 69, KP Brno 74
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno 60, ZVVZ USK Praha 78
Sunday, Jan. 28, 2018
— Women’s Basketball: Slovanka MB 88, Technic Brno 67
— Hockey: Chomutov 2, Kometa 1
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Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018
— Hockey: Sparta 3, Kometa 4 (extra time)
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).
Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018
— Women’s Basketball: Technic Brno X BLK Slavia Praha, 7 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 2, 2018
— Women’s Basketball: Sokol Nilfisk H. Králové X Žabiny Brno, 4 p.m.
— Hockey: Dukla X Kometa, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 3, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: BK Opava X mmcité+ Brno, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018
— Hockey: Kometa X Pardubice, 5 p.m.
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Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018
— Hockey: Vítkovice X Kometa, 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: mmcité+ Brno X BK JIP Pardubice, 8 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.
