Harsh winter brings Czech break

The phrase “a game of two halves” was never more relevant.  In the first half, they were atrocious.  In the second, they were immense.  The difference was like that of night and day.  Eleven barely functioning zombies stumbled around the Serbian pitch for the opening 45 minutes and they were replaced by eleven superheroes in the second half with seemingly endless energy and drive.

Ok, I exaggerate a tad, but that is not far from how it seemed.  Zbrojovka were hosting MFK OKD Karvina at the Serbian stadium in their final home game before the winter break which won't see football played again at the Serbian until Zbrojovka take on Baník Sokolova in March of next year.  It was such a shame that a season's low of only 935 was there to see a thrilling encounter, from a Zbrojovka point of view.

So in the first half, Zbrojovka were woeful.  

They looked disorganised and completely disinterested.  They failed to create any real chances and anytime Karvina broke, they looked like they'd score.  If their striker could finish, it would have been all over by half-time.  As it was, there was a sense of inevitability when the first goal went in after 25 minutes.  

Unmarked, the Karvina player was clean through on goal and calmly slotted home from inside the box.  Zbrojovka didn't pick up in the remainder of the half and at the break I was thinking that I might as well leave once it got to 3-0 to beat the rest of the crowd in the usual rush for the tram.

However, that wasn't the case.  At half-time, Zbrojovka made a change in both personnel and approach and only four minutes after the restart, they were level with the sub himself tucking the ball away.  Zbrojovka than went on to dominate the game, controlling the pace of the game and barely allowing Karvina a look in.

But although, they were on top, Zbrojovka couldn't convert any chances and the match, arguably, would have ended in familiar frustration for the home fans had it not been for a dramatic few minutes around the 70 minute mark.  First, Karvina had a man sent off.  

When seemingly clear of his marker, Zbrojovka's Martin Doležal was lightly pushed in the back by a Karvina player and went down dramatically.  I know it's common for fans to overlook these incidents when they benefit your team but I can't.  There didn't seem to be enough contact to warrant the fall he took.  However, the Karvina player was the last man so it was a straight red.

A man up with 20 minutes to go, having dominated the preceding 20, it was looking good for the home side.  It got even better when the free-kick was curled round the wall and into the top corner past a frozen keeper to give Zbrojovka the lead.  

And it just kept getting better.  

With their next attack and less than two minutes after taking the lead, Zbrojovka added a third and then a fourth just minutes later.  The second half had stunned Karvina and will be one to forget for them. But what a treat it was for the Zbrojovka fans as they face a four month wait for their next viewing at the Serbian.

So onto the winter break.  I must admit, at first, I found it strange that the Czech FA persist with a "winter" league, which runs from August 'til May.  Surely, if they're going to miss a whole four months of football, it'd be better to have a summer league like ourselves?  

However I quickly discovered both ends of the climate are far more extreme here than in Ireland.  In August, temperatures were regularly above 30 and the hottest temperature I experienced was 38.  The winters are extremely harsh, regularly reaching -20, often lower.  Even now, as I write this at nine o'clock on a mid-November evening, it's one degree below zero outside and will drop another five degrees during the night.  It makes most sense to squeeze the football season into the most bearable times of the year - between the extreme heat of summer and the frightening cold of winter.  If this is how it has to be done, so be it.

Finally, the Czech Republic will be joining us in Poland and/or Ukraine next summer as they overcame Montenegro 3-0 on aggregate in their playoff.  Their fans may bemoan the quality (or perceived lack thereof) of their side and they certainly seem to have an ageing team, but their win over Montenegro should not be belittled.  After all they did what few sides have done in the last five years - win in Montenegro.  

They also did something we couldn't do, beat Montenegro at home.  The Czechs did not impress at Euro 2008, apart from taking part in a thrilling final group match with Turkey, it was a largely forgettable campaign.  They failed to qualify for the World Cup in South Africa from an "easy" group and their reputation within the country has dropped over the years.  Even with this qualification, Czechs seem rather pessimistic about their chances at the finals.

We'll have to bear the harsh winter first before we can find out.