One of the things that appeals to me about the great city of Prague is you can always get two games on a Saturday if you wish. With the local Prague divisions staggering their kick offs over morning & afternoons On Sundays too! But I'm off elsewhere tomorrow.
I have a choice of three matches this morning, and opt for SK Union Vrsovice, which is the closest to Strasnicka Metro station, so I can have an easy getaway for my afternoon match. It's an easy stroll down the main road, passing the old Eden home of the Slavia ice hockey club.
The sun is shining, not too cold for this time of year, just crispily fresh. You can't ask for more when it's late Autmn in Central Europe. Well apart from being able to 'tick' off a new ground. Check. Hope it's not a nil nil. Check. And, hopefully see a decent game. Che....well maybe not. But what do you expect for only 20 Kc, which is less than a quid! Mustn't be too greedy.
There's no programme, and the ticket is a bog standard one, so not even a token souvenir. But, hey, at least I know I've been here, you can't have everything. It's a 10.15am kick off & I'm a quarter of an hour or so early. I pay my money, head for the club room, aa bar we'd call it, and yes it does serve alcohol. But like lots of clubs at this level it also serves hot drinks and snacks. It's not big, or smart enough to be called a restaurant as clubs of this size also have, but whatever it is it's homely.
Various trophies are in cabinets on the wall, and old men sup their early morning pints, while children buy sweets & hotdogs for breakfast. There is a food list, but I struggle to understand anything. Klobasa is on there, so try to order one of them, but no English is spoken, and although I work out enough to realise they have none, I don't know what else is on the menu, but manage to point at someone else's sausage, which is a long, frankfurter style hot dog. And she gets the message.
Time to go outside for the game, and I spend much of the first half taking my time strolling round taking photos. My starting point is the corner where I entered the ground, so I am fortunate enough to be up the right end for the only goal of the game in the eighth minute. It's scored by one of the older players, who wouldn't have looked out of place in whatever is Czech for the 'Dog & Duck', or whatever their pub teams are called, if they have such a concept.
His beer belly would have made him a first choice selection for the Dulwich Hamlet Supporters' Team, but he is still more gifted than any of the 'Rabblers'. Wearing the number four on his back he drifts around up front, and he is on hand to knock the ball over the line from six yards for the goal. Despite his bulk he continues to make a nuisance of himself, to & froing in the area.
The ground itself is a basic railed off one, but behind the goal is a steep grass bank, which makes a perfect vantage point. There's a chain link fence at the back, and one or two local folk stop for a few moments on their way to whatever they do on a autumn morning in Prague. Playing on the hill are around half a dozen children, almost uninterested in the game,even if they have a home made Vrsovice flag with them. Part of me wants to ask them if I can take their photo with it, which I 'm sure they would happily do, but I cannot bring myself to speak to them, such is my English paranoia of being labelled a nonce, through even daring to think of taking innocent snaps of happy children. Which I find rather sad.
The crowd is around 90, from my rough headcount, and they are quiet. The biggest murmours occur at the end of the half when a Motorlet chance went wide, and the referee somehow spotted an invisible deflection. I certainly never spooted it, and it was right in front of me! I'm not sure what was being said over the other side, but you can bet it wasn't in keeping with any Czech 'respect' campaign! Not that it mattered, the corner kick was pants, and was easily cleared.
After the interval the football was much of the same. End to end, but with the home side dominant. Nothing to write home about, and not a game that will live long in the memory. Not that i'm complaining. not every match you go to can be the proverbial cracker, and I can accept limited ability, even at this lowly level, as long as they are keen and try. Despite what the mass of ignoramuses that follow professional football think, limited ability non-league players does not equal pile of cack!
In the closing minutes the visitors hit the post from a free kick, which would have given them a point that they wouldn't really have deserved. I can't be too harsh on Motorlet though, this was only their B side after all. And on this viewing I don't think too many of their first team will be losing too much sleep tonight worrying if their places are under threat.
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