Ladislav Krejčí celebrates after his header put Zbrojovka onto the scoreboard on Sunday. Photo credit: Martin Tajč, fczbrno.cz.
Brno, Nov. 7 (BD) — Čermák scores twice to lead Kometa in Champions League, egoé Brno struggles with rebounding, tough week for local women’s basketball teams, Lokomotiva ends first half of season in last place and the Brno sports schedule.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Zbrojovka Dominates Vítkovice to Win 4-1
The Zbrojovka fans who returned to Srbska Stadium after consecutive scoreless ties were rewarded with a powerful example of winning football: FC Zbrojovka beat Vítkovice, 4-1, on Sunday evening and moved into sixth place in the Fortuna:Narodni Liga standings.
Plus, the concession stands now have popcorn. Life is good.
Zbrojovka (6-5-3 with 23 points) is six points behind league-leaders SK Dynamo Č. Budějovice and FC Vysočina Jihlava.
Ladislav Krejčí opened the scoring with a powerful header that drilled Robert Bartholomew’s corner kick into the Vítkovice goal at the 15-minute mark.
“Laďa Krejčí hit the ball very well and at that moment we were able to breath better,” said head coach Pavel Šustr, who has yet to lose a game since he took over in late August.
Then, at 21 and 29 minutes, Peter Štepanovský added goals. Within the middle 15 minutes of the first half, Zbrojovka had taken a huge psychological step forward.
After an 86th minute Vítkovice, Lukáš Magera, who has been limited recently by injuries, came off the bench to score two minutes into extra time. He is second in the league with nine goals.
The victory stretched Zbrojovka’s unbeaten streak to eight games.
Similarly impressive were the defensive numbers. When goalkeeper and captain Dušan Melichárek gave up the late-game goal, his scoreless streak ended at 530 minutes.
Brno jumped past Vítkovice (6-3-5, 21 points) in the standings.
“Two matches are waiting for us and my plan is, of course, to win twice,” Šustr said.
Next the team travels to 12th-place Třinec (4 -2-8, 14 points) on Saturday at 10:15 a.m. and then finishes the autumn half of the league season at home against 11th-place FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim (3-6-5, 15 points) on Friday, Nov. 23 at 6 p.m.
The league will resume on March 2 and run through May 25.
HOCKEY
Kometa Takes Opening Game of Champions League Postseason
HC Kometa failed to extend their modest Tipsport extraliga winning streak past three when they lost, 2-1, at Mlada Boleslav on Sunday. But they opened the postseason of the Hockey Champions League with a 5-1 win over Tappara at DRFG Arena on Tuesday.
Leos Čermák scored two goals. Martin Dočekal had two assists. Brno will travel to Finland to play Tappara on Tuesday, Nov. 20 at 6 p.m.
The Tipsport extraliga will take a 10-day international break. Kometa has 28 points through 16 games. League-leader Sparta has 33 points through 18 games.
The loss to Mlada Boleslav was the second time this year that the Bohemian team has ended a Kometa three-game winning streak.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Eight-point Second Quarter Sinks egoé Basket Brno
Egoé Basket Brno, which had been having trouble maintaining their fourth-quarter intensity, fell apart in the second quarter instead and lost at home on Saturday against GEOSAN Kolín, 66-87.
Brno finished the 10-minute first quarter with a six-point lead, 27-21, then lost momentum. They were outscored 8-23 in the second quarter.
Reggie Keely was the only Brno player to reach double digits; he had 16 points. In all, Brno was outrebounded 29-46.
“We did not do what we agreed on, especially regarding the play of the Kolín players under the basket,” said Brno head coach Dejan Jakara. “We did not stop the passes down under the basket as we had prepared the whole week.”
Added Brno guard Zurab Kereselidze: “We had a total failure to defend. Under the basket we barely defended. The other thing was their offensive rebounds, which they had about 18. That’s 18 more attacks, and that’s terribly difficult (to overcome). ”
It was the third straight league loss for Brno (3-4).
Earlier in the week, Brno also lost in the Alpe Adria Cup, traveling to and losing to BK Klosterneuburg Dukes, 66-59, on Wednesday.
Brno plays at BK Opava (4-3) on Thursday at 6 p.m. and at ČEZ Basketball Nymburk (7-0) on Saturday at 5 p.m. They return home to play SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem (3-5) on Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. The 11th Round of the season has Brno travelling to Královští sokoli on Wednesday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. Then there is a two-week pause.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Tough Week for Local Women’s Hoops
All three Brno women’s basketball teams lost last week.
In the marquee matchup of the league, KP Brno hosted ZVVZ USK Praha in a rematch of the 2017-18 championship series. The final result was basically the same. Praha won, 63-96.
Praha dominated the paint, going 36 of 58 (62 percent) from 2-point range and outrebounding Brno, 24-52. Post Alyssa Thomas played less than 20 minutes, yet scored a game-high 21 points, mostly by going 8-for-8 under the basket.
“The USK team showed their strength and confirmed the excellent form of the Euroleague,” said Brno head coach David Zdeněk. “They played fast, aggressive basketball.”
Eva Kopecká showed how she can be a sparkplug of a player. She led Brno with 18 points, including 3-for-3 from long range. Edita Šujanová had 11 points. Jasmine Gill added 10 points.
BK Žabiny Brno lost, 83-77, as host BS DSK Basketball Nymburk KV jumped into second place in the standings. Teamsport Brno lost to visiting Trutnov, 52-86.
The ZBL has one more round before a two-week break. Žabiny Brno (5-2) host BLK Slavia Praha (3-4) on Saturday at 5 p.m. Then, on Sunday, KP Brno (5-2) travels to Loko Trutnov (4-3) and Teamstore Brno (1-6) travels to Slovanka MB (2-5).
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Finishes Fall In Last, But Within Striking Distance
Lokomotiva Brno-Herni Herspice earned a point on the road but they still dropped to the bottom of the standings when the autumn half of the top women’s league came to a close.
Lokomotiva had a two-goal lead before they were tied by host FC Sloval Liberec, 2-2, on Sunday. Viktória Kovaliková had put Lokomotiva on the scoreboard in the third minute and Tereza Pušková added another in the 37th minute for a 2-0 halftime lead.
Despite the point, Lokomotiva Brno H. H. (2-2-6, eight points) dropped to eighth and last place in the league as the only team with only two wins. The next five teams above them in the standings have three wins and are all within two points.
The league continues on Sunday, March 10 when Lokomotiva is scheduled to host fifth-place FC Viktoria Plzeň (3-1-6, 10 points).
Through 10 games, Lokomotiva has scored nine goals (worst in the league) and given up 35 (third worst).
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (when applicable).
Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2018
— Men’s Basketball, Alpe Adria Cup: BK Klosterneuburg Dukes 66, Egoé Basket Brno 59
— Women’s Basketball, Eurocup, Group G: KP Brno 66, Reyer Venezia 64
Saturday, Nov. 3, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: Basket Brno 66, GEOSAN Kolín 87
— Women’s Basketball: DSK Basketball Nymburk 83, Žabiny Brno 77
— Women’s Basketball: KP Brno 63, ZVVZ USK Praha 96
Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018
— Women’s Football: FC Slovan Liberec X Lokomotiva Brno H. H., TBD
— Women’s Basketball: Teamstore Brno 52, Loko Trutnov 86
— Hockey: Ml. Boleslav 2, Kometa 1
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno 4, Vitkovice 1
Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018
— Hockey, Champions League, Round of 16: Kometa 5, Tappara 1
— Hockey: HC Masaryk University 6, UK Praha 2
See the photo gallery! “CLASH OF MASTERS” on November 6. HC Masaryk University 6, UK Praha 2. // Photo credit: Casadei Graphics.
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, Nov. 7, 2018
— Women’s Basketball, Eurocup, Group G: KP Brno X Nantes, 6 p.m.
Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: BK Opava X egoé Basket Brno, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2018
— Men’s Football: Třinec X Zbrojovka, 10:15 a.m.
— Men’s Basketball: ČEZ Basketball Nymburk X egoé Basket Brno, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Žabiny Brno X BLK Slavia Praha, 5 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2018
— Women’s Basketball: Loko Trutnov X KP Brno, 5 p.m.
— Women’s Basketball: Slovanka MB X Teamstore Brno, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018
— Hockey: Kometa X Pardubice, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 16, 2018
— Hockey: Oceláři Třinec X Kometa, 5 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17, 2018
— Men’s Basketball: Basket Brno X SLUNETA Ústí nad Labem, 7 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018
— Hockey: Mountfield HK X Kometa, 6 p.m.
Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018
— Hockey, Champions League, Round of 16: Tappara X Kometa, 6 p.m.
— Hockey: HC Masaryk University X Prague Engineers, 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.
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