Photo Caption: HC Kometa have won three games in a row as they make their final push for the postseason. Photo Credit: Vít Golda.
Brno, Feb. 24 (BD) — Zbrojovka loses late after video replay gives Olomouc a goal; Lokomotiva starts spring part of women’s football season; Brno women’s basketball teams waiting for next-phase schedule; and Basket Brno starts Group A1 play at Opava on Saturday.
MEN’S HOCKEY
Kometa Plays Friday to Extend Win Streak
With the regular season quickly coming to an end, HC Kometa are picking up steam for a final push toward the postseason.
The team beat HC Energie Karlovy Vary, 3-1, on Tuesday to follow up on a 9-3 shellacking of PSG Berani Zlín on Friday and a 0-1 nail-biter at HC Škoda Plzeň on Sunday.
Since a weeklong break — which put a stop to a stretch where the team had lost nine of 11 games — Brno has won four games and lost one in an extra time shootout.
The winning has moved Kometa to eighth in the standings with 66 points. But that is equal to Karlovy Vary and one point ahead of Vitkovice. Pardubice is seven points ahead in seventh place.
There are five games left, including hosting Bílí Tygři Liberec on Friday at 6 p.m.; going to Mountfield HK on Sunday at 4 p.m.; and hosting HC Olomouc on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
For the league website, go to https://www.hokej.cz/tipsport-extraliga. For updated information and the schedule, go to the team website at https://hc-kometa.cz/. Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
MEN’S FOOTBALL
Video Replay Sinks Zbrojovka
It appeared that FC Zbrojovka Brno would take a point home from Olomouc on Saturday. The game was already well into three minutes of extra time and nobody had scored the entire game.
Then, just like that, suddenly two Sigma Olomouc players got a long pass and moved swiftly behind the Brno defenders and into the open. Brno goalkeeper Martin Šustr went out aggressively, the Olomouc player Mojmír Chytil moved to the right and into the clear, and slotted the ball just inside the goal post.
But . . . the offsides flag went up.
But . . . there is a video replay now. When the video was examined, the referee changed his mind and decided that the final-minute breakaway was, in fact, a goal.
Olomouc 1, Brno 0.
It was another late-game replay that went against FC Zborojovka. The previous week, a late winning goal was taken from Brno when a foul was discovered upon analyzing the video.
In any case, Zbrojovka (3-5-12, 14 points) remains just above the relegation zone in 15th place.
Viktoria Plzeň (9-4-7, 31) comes to Brno this Saturday for 6:30 p.m. start.
For updated information and the schedule for FC Zbrojovka Brno games, go to the league website at https://www.fortunaliga.cz/. The team website is at https://fczbrno.cz/. Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Season Re-starts Saturday
Lokomotiva Brno-Horni Herspice are fourth in the women’s top-league standings and enjoying their best season.
In the fall, they lost their first three games against the top teams in the league, then fought back to compile a season record of 3-0-4 with 9 points.
The first game of the spring will be this Saturday at AC Sparta Praha, the undefeated league leader, at 1 p.m.
In March, Brno has three games on the schedule. They host 1. FC Slovácko on March 6 at 2 p.m. and then go to FK Pardubice on March 13 at 2:15 p.m. and to SK Slavia Praha on March 20 at 2 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Both Brno teams finish Regular Season 12-6
The Renomia ŽBL still has a few games that need to be completed before the regular season is officially over, but the top four teams are already done with their 18 games.
Perennial champion ZVVZ USK Praha (18-0) was untouchable. Sokol Hradec Králové (16-2) was second after only two losses to Praha.
Then, with identical 12-6 records, BK Žabiny Brno was third and KP Brno slipped to fourth.
These top four teams will move into Group A to play home-and-away games among each other. The schedule is to be announced. The fifth- to eighth-place teams will move to Group B, which will play to determine the four teams that will move into the postseason bracket and the best-of-five quarterfinal series (and one team that will play in a relegation series with the top team from the lower league).
For updated information and schedules for both local teams, go to the league website at https://www.zbl.basketball/. The KP Brno team website is: http://www.kpbrnobasket.cz/ The Žabiny Brno team website is: https://www.bkzabiny.cz/ Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Brno Starts Group A1 Play
Basket Brno will continue the best season in its history with the first game of Group A1 this Saturday at Opava at 6 p.m.
Group A1 includes the top eight teams from the regular season, which ended two weeks ago with Brno in fourth place with a 13-9 record. ERA Basketball Nymburk led the way with a 21-1 record.
BK Opava (17-5) finished second in the league.
The top eight teams play home-and-away games with each other team in Group A1. The top six teams move on to the postseason. The seventh- and eighth-place teams will need to earn their way with an extra step against teams from Group A2. The postseason is scheduled for April 9 to May 22.
Earlier this week, three Brno players — Šimon Puršl, Radek Farský and Richard Bálint — played for the national team in Vlinius, Lithuania. The team lost to the hosts on Saturday and beat Belgium on Monday.
For updated information and the schedule for Basket Brno games, go to the league website at https://www.nbl.cz/. The team website is: https://basketbrno.cz/ Use Google Chrome, right-click anywhere on the page and select “Translate to English”.
