Photo Caption: HC Kometa is down 0-2 and facing elimination in the quarterfinals. Game 3 against Oceláři Třinec is tonight and Game 4 is tomorrow and on CT Sport. Photo Credit: HC Kometa / Thomas Gažda.
Brno, Mar 24 (BD) — Zbrojovka limps into international break with just 10 games left to save top-league status; Czech Republic starts World Cup 2022 qualifying; Lokomotiva women’s football gets Liberec for a mid-table battle; Women’s basketball postseason semifinals start next Tuesday; and Basket Brno resumes season in Prague today.
MEN’S HOCKEY
Kometa Plays Tonight, Tomorrow
HC Kometa has been outscored 12-2 in the first two games of its best-of-seven quarterfinal series against Oceláři Třinec. Both games were in northern Moravia. Hopefully, home ice will be the difference and turn the series around.
Brno hosts games tonight at 7 p.m. and tomorrow at 5:20 p.m. The Thursday game will be on CT Sport.
HC Kometa finished the regular season in ninth place. They lost the first two games of a best-of-five game postseason series at HC Vitkovice Ridera, then rallied for two wins at home and the third in a row in Ostrava to keep their season alive.
Last weekend in the quarterfinals, Brno lost the first game, 5-0, and the second game, 7-2. They must win four of the next six games to keep their season alive.
Another rally from being down 0-2 will be difficult, particularly because Oceláři Třinec was second in the regular season. In any case, when Brno is playing well, it has back class that could be the difference.
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
Zbrojovka Limps into International Break
FC Zbrojovka, which returned to the Fortuna Liga this season, is running out of time if it wants to stay in the top league in the country.
Last Saturday, the team earned only a point with a 1-1 tie at last-place Příbram. That leaves them four points deep in the relegation zone with just 10 games to play.
Now, the team gets a weekend off during a pause for international play to try to put their season together.
There are two months left in the season. Zbrojovka (3-7-14, 16 points) is in 16th place. SFC Opava (3-6-15, 15) is in 17th place and Příbram (2-7-15, 13) is in 18th place.
Strictly from placement in the standings, Zbrojovka has three “winnable” home games against 14th-place Teplice (6-5-13, 23) in late April; against 15th-place FK Mladá Boleslav (4-8-12, 20) in early May; and against Opava in mid May.
FK Teplice and FK Mladá Boleslav are the teams to catch if Brno is to stave off a return to the lower league, where cross-town rival SK Líšeň 2019 tops the standings and is in a good position to move into the top league.
Actually, SK Líšeň 2019 has attracted national television. They will be broadcast to the nation by CT Sport when they host FC Vysočina Jihlava, which is in 10th place, on Monday, May 5 at 2:30 p.m.
Should the Brno teams switch leagues, it would be a major embarrassment for the long-time dominant club, FC Zbrojovka. However, Brno has simply been unable to make a move up the standings to protect its position. In Příbram, Zbrojovka had a first-half goal called off as off-sides after a lengthy video review. About five minutes later, a Ondřej Pachlopník direct kick was headed into the goal by a Jiří Texl.
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”.
Czech National Team Plays Three Games
Qualification for the 2022 World Cup will begin today when the Czech Republic plays in Estonia at 8:45 p.m.
The Czech Republic is in Group E, with Belarus, Belgium, Estonia and Wales.
Belgium will come to Prague on Saturday, then the team will travel to Cardiff to play Wales on Tuesday. Both games start at 8:45 p.m.
The national team has already qualified for the Euro Cup, which was postponed last year by the coronavirus and is scheduled to begin in June. The Czech Republic will play Scotland (June 14), Croatia (June 18) and England (June 22)
WOMEN’S FOOTBALL
Lokomotiva Hosts Liberec Saturday
Lokomotiva Brno-Horni Herspice lost, 6-0, at SK Slavia Praha last Saturday. They have only one point from three games during the spring, a tie against last-place FK Pardubice.
The loss dropped Lokomotiva to fifth place. On Saturday, Lokomotiva will host the team that took over the fourth-place spot, FC Slovan Liberec. The game will be at Brno, TCM Sladovnická and start at 2 p.m.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
Semifinal Series Scheduled to Start Tuesday
Both BK Žabiny Brno and KP Brno will begin semifinal series next week.
KP Brno is scheduled to play league-leader ZVVZ USK Praha on Tuesday, April 1 and April 3 in the semifinals. BK Žabiny Brno plays Sokol Hradec Králové on those same days.
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 Season Resumes Today in Prague
After three postponements and the self-imposed quarantine of head coach Lubomír Růžička, Basket Brno returns to the court when they travel to USK Praha today.
The game starts at 6 p.m. It will be shown on tvcom.cz.
“A very difficult match awaits us with USK,” said Radek Farský, a small forward. “Our opponent presents itself with fast basketball with an aggressive defense.”
Basket Brno is 1-3 in Group A1 play, which includes the top eight teams from the regular season, who play home-and-away games with each other. 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.
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”.
