After four preparation games over the past two weeks, FC Zbrojovka has its first Fortuna:Národní Liga test on Thursday. They are third in the second league and they have a fighting chance to return to the top league of the country. Photo credit: FC Zbrojovka.
Brno, May 27 (BD) — SK Líšeň lost their first game back at home on Tuesday; Draci split with Arrows in early battle of traditional top baseball teams, Technika and Hroši win both games; and the Brno sports schedule.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
FC Zbrojovka Restarts Season Thursday
SK Líšeň lost their first game back on Tuesday (see below) and FC Zbrojovka will start up on Thursday as the Fortuna:Národní Liga season gets rolling.
FC Zbrojovka (10-4-3, 34) is currently third in the standings, behind FK Pardubice (13-2-3, 41) and FC Vysočina Jihlava (10-5-3, 35). The top team automatically is promoted to the top league at the end of the season. The second and third teams will have to play some extra games to earn the promotion.
On Thursday, Zbrojovka travels to Ústí nad Labem (7-5-5, 26). The game will be at 6 p.m. on CT Sport.
Many Zbrojovka fans will watch the game at Zlatá loď on Náměstí Svobody and at Charlie´s Square on Římském náměstí. Both restaurants will have designated seating charts so that the fans will follow the existing regulations against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As for getting back in the stadium to watch the team live, there is a complicated formula for who will be able to attend the following two home games against Dukla Prague on June 1 at 7 p.m. and against Třinec on June 8 at 5 p.m. According to the team website, a fixed number of 175 people is necessary to play the match (e.g., players, support staff, media representatives). That leaves a small amount of space for VIPs and, in sector L, fans from the official team fan club, who will endeavor to create a game-like atmosphere. Everyone who goes to the game is required to undergo temperature measurements when entering the stadium.
Reportedly, games after June 8 will be able to have an attendance of 500. Later, another increase will bring the capacity of the stadium to 1,000 people, with season-ticket owners getting priority. Beyond that, preference will be given to fans who, based on ticket data, have visited all of the previous nine home matches.
The Fortuna:Národní Liga schedule will have about two games a week for the next month and a half as it rushes to complete the spring half of the 2019-20 season, which includes 13 more games.
SK Líšeň Drops Restart Game
SK Líšeň restarted the season flat-footed and lost at home, 0-2, to FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim on Tuesday. It was just the second road win of the overall 2019-20 season for Vlašim (5-2-11, 17).
SK Líšeň (6-6-6, 24) is in the middle of the standings in their first year at this level of play. They will next play at FC Slavoj Vysehrad (6-2-10, 20), which also lost their first game back, on Saturday at 5 p.m.
BASEBALL
Brno Teams Collectively Win Five of Six
Brno Draci, the most successful team in the history of Czech baseball, and Arrows Ostrava, the two-time defending champions, squared off against each other twice in the opening weekend of the delayed 2020 season. The early results were a draw: on Friday, the Arrows scored a run in each of the first three innings as they went on to win, 3-0, in Ostrava; and, on Sunday, the Draci scored two runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to hold on for a 6-3 victory (after the scheduled Saturday game was postponed by rain).
For now, the split by the traditional top teams allowed the two other Brno teams to rise to the top of the standings. They are among four teams who won both games on Opening Weekend: Cardion Hroši Brno (2-0), Technika Brno (2-0), Eagles Praha (2-0) and Kotlářka Praha (2-0).
Technika has established itself as the team of late-inning rallies. On Friday night, Technika rallied for seven runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead and hold on to beat Olympia, 9-12. Then, at home on Saturday, they scored nine runs in the sixth inning to take control of a 14-4 victory over Olympia.
The Hroši beat the Třebíč Nuclears twice with solid pitching. Jan Kucin had a nine-inning gem (three hits, eight strikeouts, four walks) in a 9-1 win at Třebíč on Saturday, and the combination of 18-year-old Raymond Whitehead, 16-year-old Boris Večerka and 19-year-old Jakub Bílek held Třebíč at bay on Sunday, 6-1.
The 10-team Czech Extraliga will have each team play each other twice through mid-July. Then the league will split into the top teams and the lower teams. The top teams will play against each other to finalize the seeds for the postseason.
Guidelines concerning fans at games are in flux and at the behest of the social-gathering restrictions imposed by the government.
All three Brno teams play locally at 4 p.m. on Saturday — Draci Brno X Třebíč Nuclears; Cardion Hroši Brno X SaBaT Praha; and Technika Brno X Kotlářka Praha — before playing the same teams away on Sunday at 4 p.m.
BRNO SPORTS RESULTS
Quick results for various Brno professional and recreational sports for the past week. Home team listed first (where applicable).
Friday, May 22, 2020
— Baseball: Olympia 9, Technika 12
— Baseball: Arrows 3, Draci 0
Saturday, May 23, 2020
— Baseball: Nuclears 1, Hroši 9
— Baseball: Technika 14, Olympia 4
Sunday, May 24, 2020
— Baseball: Hroši 6, Nuclears 1
— Baseball: Draci 6, Arrows 3
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
— Men’s Football: SK Líšeň 0, FC Sellier & Bellot Vlašim 2
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, May 28, 2020
— Men’s Football: Ústí n. Laben X Zbrojovka Brno, 6 p.m., CT Sport
Saturday, May 30, 2020
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Třebíč Nuclears, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno X SaBaT Praha, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Technika Brno X Kotlářka Praha, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Football: FC Slavoj Vysehrad X SK Líšeň, 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 31, 2020
— Baseball: SaBaT Praha X Cardion Hroši Brno, 4p.m.
— Baseball: Kotlářka Praha X Technika Brno, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Třebíč Nuclears X Draci Brno, 4 p.m.
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Monday, June 1, 2020
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Dukla Praha, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
— Men’s Football: SK Líšeň X FC Vysočina Jihlava, 5 p.m.
Thursday, June 4, 2020
— Men’s Football: Vítkovice X Zbrojovka Brno, 5 p.m.
Friday, June 5, 2020
— Baseball: Arrows Ostrava X Cardion Hroši Brno, 7 p.m.
Saturday, June 6, 2020
— Baseball: Draci Brno X Kotlářka Praha, 2 p.m.
— Baseball: Cardion Hroši Brno X Arrows Ostrava, 4 p.m.
— Baseball: Technika Brno X SaBaT Praha, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Football: FK Viktoria Žižkov X SK Líšeň, 5 p.m.
Sunday, June 7, 2020
— Baseball: Kotlářka Praha X Draci Brno, 2 p.m.
— Baseball: SaBaT Praha X Technika Brno, 4 p.m.
— Men’s Football: Zbrojovka Brno X Třinec, 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, cricket, 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 bruno@brnodaily.cz.
