SK Unicov 2-3 Hanacka, Sunday 6th August 2017

SK Unicov 2-3 Hanacka (Czech 3.liga, att. c150)

Welcome to ....

One of the best things about Czech lower division football is their propensity 10:15am kick offs.  So when I realised I'd be in Olomouc for the weekend, I thought ‘let's see if there's any Sunday morning kick offs in the locality’.  There was: SK Union Unicov, a 40 minute train ride away.  How could I resist?

The train would get there 10:13. so I’d miss kick off (no change there) but it was a relatively short walk.  Least it would have been had I not got out a stop early (it had Unicov in the title).  The ticket inspector did shout something to me from the train, presumably ‘you know this is the middle of nowhere, right?’

Unicov is over there...somewhere.

Once I’d consulted Google Maps, I rectified my mistake.  Unicov was walkable and it meant I saw their local park, complete with disc golf course (sure beats real golf).  I may have missed 20 minutes, but no goals

On entering, there was the smoke of a barbecue, reminiscent of Viktoria Zizkov.  Only this wasn't sausages, it was some kind of fish skewered from mouth to tail, with the biggest skewer I've ever seen outside of a hog roast.  ‘I'm having one of those’ I thought.  It cost more than my entry into the match, but it was still a bargain CHK 60.

Breakfast, Czech-style.

At the gate, a lady collected the ticket money in a shoebox.  CHK 40 and a crowd that probably wouldn't look out of place at some English Sunday morning games, around 150.  The stadium had one stand, with the bench seats looking suspiciously older than the roof structure.  Maybe the latter was added later?  Opposite were a few terraced steps, with the odd bench along the top row, perhaps the most prized seats in the stadium.  Otherwise a four-lane athletics track surrounded the pitch and in very good condition it was too.  Sheffield Council can't keep open the Don Valley Stadium, yet here was a small town able to keep its track running (pun intended).

The Main Stand and track.

The match was an exciting 3-2 win for the visitors, to the joy of their 10 fans.  1-0 went to 1-3 either side of half time, before a last minute consolation brought some hope.  I think I probably saw two of the goals.  It seemed that every time I looked at something else (such as the fish I was dismantling) there’d be a notch.  Oh well, it was still a good game, good passing, tackles and plenty of misses for the home side.  Speed and fitness, or lack thereof, is what is keeping most of these players at this level.

Anyway, match over, it was on to Ostrava, where Banik were playing this evening.  Another great reason for 10:15am kick-offs!

The terrace.

The Damage:

CHK 40 ent

CHK 60 fish on a skewer

CHK 30 beer

= CHK 130

The Tunes:

Do You Like Rock Music? (British Sea Power)

Stadion SK Unicov panorama.

The entrance.

'Fish on a skewer, anyone?'

Mmmmmm.....

One of the dugouts.

Inside the Main Stand.

Those worn benches.

Round the bend.

Camera gantry on roof.

The view towards the Main Stand.

Full-time.

The away side return the applause of their fans.

Exec-seating at Unicov.

The camera gantry.

Main Stand.  Home time!