2014

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Fourth year of the League

In 2014, the Czech Futsal League for the Blind was held for the fourth time. Again, only two teams participated: Avoy MU Brno and BSC Praha (defending champions from 2013). Both teams competed only three times, with the penultimate scheduled match being abandoned in favour of BSC Praha. The clear winner this time was the Brno team, which, in addition to the controversial win, also scored two victories after penalty kicks and a final "clean" win. The success was also enhanced by the awarding of Tomáš Bukovský as the best goalkeeper and Jan Mrázek as the best striker of the 2014 league season. In addition to the two mentioned above, the All-Stars also included Aleš Moravec and Vojtěch Polášek.

Match Overview

• 30 March in Brno: Avoy MU Brno vs. BSC Praha 0:0, 1:0 p.k. (penalty kick: Fenz)
• 30 May in Prague: BSC Praha vs. Avoy MU Brno 0:0, 0:1 p.k. (penalty kicks scored: Valer vs. Hegr, Gottlieb)
• 7 September in Brno: Avoy MU Brno vs. BSC Praha 3:0 cont.
• 5 October in Prague: BSC Praha vs. Avoy MU Brno 0:2 (goals scored: Mrázek, Gottlieb)

Report about the first game

The players of Avoy MU Brno and BSC Prague met for the first match of what is now the fourth year of the league. Both teams’ line-ups were almost complete – the only player missing was Prague’s striker Lukáš Valer. It was quite apparent that the season is only at its beginning, as the players seemed unaccustomed to the conditions presented by the larger outdoor pitch. Both sides’ defence was in prime form, frequently managing to crowd the goal area so that the strikers had little chance to reach advantageous positions. All but few goal attempts were quashed before they reached the penalty area of each side. Brno’s Jan Mrázek shot a few interesting attempts at the opponent’s goal, one of which even had goal parameters. However, all these shots were dealt with by Prague’s goalkeeper Ondřej Kričfaluši. In the closing of the second half two fouls were commited by Miroslav Babický, giving the Brno team the possibility of deciding the match by the second penalty kick. Nevertheless, the shot by Jan Mrázek was not forceful enough, and the match ended on a goalless draw. In the penalty shoot-off, one point went to the Brno team after a goal by Jiří Fenz, scored in the fourth series. The match ended on the score of 1:0 (after penalty kicks) in favour of Avoy MU Brno.

Avoy MU Brno line-up: goalkeeper Tomáš Bukovský, players: Jiří Fenz, Jan Hegr, Katka Hegrová, Aleš Moravec, Jan Mrázek, Vojtěch Polášek, Pavel Ondra, guide: Jitka Graclíková, coach: Martin Jelínek.

BSC Prague line-up: goalkeeper Ondřej Kričfaluši, players: Miroslav Babický, Zdeněk Barlok, Tomáš Hromádka, Tomáš Mysliveček, Michal Rokůsek, Jiří Sedláček, guide: Katka Oplová, coach: Jiří Kotrč.

Scoring player: Fenz (Avoy MU Brno).

Scorecard of the match (pdf)

Photo gallery (Facebook)

Report about the second game

The players of Avoy MU Brno and BSC Prague met for the second match of the blind football league, this time taking place in Prague − Březiněves. Unexpectedly, Avoy opted for changing their playing tactics, using the new technical and qualitative knowledge they had gained at the blind football camp in Hamburg.

The new game style was quickly adopted by the Brno team. Remarkably, it took only several training sessions for the new tactics to become their own. It is especially advantageous thanks to the now closer cooperation between the defence and offense, using the midfielders, who are able to help out in the defence as well as the offense. The position in question was taken up by Vojtěch Polášek, who (despite his initial insecurity) gave an excellent performance, as well as Aleš Moravec, who assisted him very well. And it was not only them who performed well in their positions: the cooperation of defence players with offense players proved effective and encouraging to all the Avoy players.

The new style made an impact especially in the first half of the match, when the Brno players were more active than the Prague team. Nevertheless, neither of the strikers (Mrázek from Brno, Lukáš Valer from Prague) was lucky at the time. Even though Valer proved quite a challenge for the wholesome Brno defence, he had a bad day and posed no real threat for Brno’s goalkeeper Bukovský. The second half brought the teams closer to the same level, but still the match remained without the very much expected goal. However, the teams need not be ashamed of their performance. Although it was goalless, the match offered some great football moments.

As well as in the first round of the league, this match also had to be decided by way of penalty kicks. Unfortunately, the first goal was scored by Prague, as an amazing shot by Tomáš Mysliveček bounced off the left goalpost and behind the goalkeeper Bukovský’s back, rendering him unable to stop Mysliveček from scoring. Subsequently Brno retaliated when their secret weapon, Jan Hegr, shot an uncompromising lower left corner goal. Brno’s victory was then sealed by the new player Ondřej Gottlieb, who defeated Prague’s goalkeeper Kričfaluši once more.

The result <strong>1:0</strong> of the match saw Avoy gaining yet another valuable spring season victory after their success in the Chemnitz tournament. They will be able to showcase their good form in less than three weeks in the familiar setting of the Moravian town of Bučovice, where the second Bučovice Blind Footbal Cup 2014, hosted by Avoy MU Brno, will be taking place from May 30 to June 1.

Avoy MU Brno line-up: goalkeeper Tomáš Bukovský, players: Jiří Fenz, Ondřej Gottlieb, Jan Hegr, Katka Hegrová, Aleš Moravec, Jan Mrázek, Vojtěch Polášek, Pavel Ondra, Martina Mrázková, guide: Jitka Graclíková, coach: Martin Jelínek, assistants: Ondřej Banovský, Tomáš Hejl, Silvie Hrbáčková.

BSC Prague line-up: goalkeeper Ondřej Kričfaluši, players: Miroslav Babický, Zdeněk Barlok, Tomáš Hromádka, Tomáš Mysliveček, Michal Rokůsek, Lukáš Valer, guides: Katka Oplová, Petra Paďourová, coach: Jiří Kotrč.

Penalty kicks:

• 0:0 − Jiří Fenz (Avoy MU Brno)
• 0:1 − Tomáš Mysliveček (BSC Prague)
• 1:1 − Jan Hegr (Avoy MU Brno)
• 1:1 − Lukáš Valer (BSC Prague)
• 2:1 − Ondřej Gottlieb (Avoy MU Brno)
• 2:1 − Tomáš Hromádka (BSC Prague)

Report written by: Tomáš Hejl

Photo Gallery (Facebook)

Fourth Game

Photo gallery (author: Derek Halsey).

Frühjahrsturnier Blindenfussball 2014

April 26, 2014, Chemnitz (Germany)

Participants: Chemnitzer FC, VSV Würzburg, FC St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., Avoy MU Brno

After the league match the team of Avoy MU Brno travelled to the German town of Chemnitz, where they faced − for the first time this year − strong teams from abroad in preparation for the Bučovice tournament in June.

In the first match the Avoy players met their friends from FC St. Pauli. The opposing team arrived somewhat weakened, as they had to spare the excellent Serdal Celebi, who was forced to give up the tournament due to his national team responsibilities. Even though the match ended on a perfectly acceptable draw of 1-1, coach Duda let his players know that seeing as the Hamburg team was missing their best player, they could have reached a much better result.

For that reason the Brno team put significantly more force into the subsequent match against VSV Würzburg, producing an almost immediate effect. Less than fifteen seconds into the match, Jan Mrázek managed to shoot a straight goal, thus de facto becoming the quickest shooter of the tournament. The Brno team was evidently qualitatively superior to its opponent, be it due to the mostly flawlessly working defence or the tireless attacks of the striker. However, the striker was short on the luck needed to score the much desired goals, and so it was just a one goal difference victory 1-0.

The last match saw Brno opposing the eagerly awaited host team of Chemnitzer FC, consistently marked as the tournament’s favourites. Chemnitz then solidified its position by excellent performance and the effort to achieve the trophy for their fans. None of the preceding matches brought so much excitement as this one between Avoy and Chemnitzer FC. While the host team may at times have exceeded the visiting team in the quality of their technique, Brno held its own with their trademark courage. The unforeseen happened in the first half of the match, as Jan Mrázek rightfully succeeded in scoring a goal. In the second half of the match Chemnitz significantly increased the force of their offense, so that Brno had no other choice but to focus completely on a better defence. Avoy MU Brno fought with all their might and everyone marvelled at the magnificent interventions of Brno’s goalkeeper Bukovský, who in several critical moments managed to deflect dangerous shots by the opponent, and protected his team’s score until the final sound of the referee’s whistle. The match ended on the score 1-0 for Avoy MU Brno.

Avoy MU Brno could then rightfully hold up the trophy for the winner of the Frühjahrsturnier Blindenfussball 2014. Brno’s goalkeeper Bukovský was awarded the best player of the tournament trophy for his excellent performance. In critical hindsight, the laudably tenacious Avoy MU Brno showed remarkable quality of playing and performance, which was consistently evident throughout the tournament. The performance of the new player Ondřej Gottlieb, who played for Brno for the first time, can also be assessed as positive, as he contributed significantly to the final result.

All the Matches results

1. Chemnitzer FC − VSV Würzburg 3-0
2. Avoy MU Brno − FC St. Pauli 1-1
3. Avoy MU Brno − VSV Würzburg 1-0
4. Chemnitzer FC − FC St. Pauli 0-0
5. FC St. Pauli − VSV Würzburg 2-0
6. Chemnitzer FC − Avoy MU Brno 0-1

Table of Results

1. Avoy MU Brno, 3:1, 7 points
2. FC St. Pauli, 3:1, 5 points
3. Chemnitzer FC, 3:1, 4 points
4. VSV Würzburg, 0:6, 0 points

Avoy MU Brno line-up

Goalkeeper: Tomáš Bukovský, players: Jiří Fenz, Jan Hegr, Aleš Moravec, Jan Mrázek, Martina Mrázková, Ondřej Gottlieb, Vojtěch Polášek, Pavel Ondra, guide: Jitka Graclíková, coach: Milan Duda, assistents: Tomáš Hejl, Silvie Hrbáčková.

Goals scored by: Mrázek 3.

Author of the report: Tomáš Hejl

More Information

Photo gallery

Joint Blind Football Camp with FC St. Pauli Hamburg

April 27 to May 1, 2014, Hamburg (Germany)

After their success at the tournament in Chemnitz, Avoy MU Brno set off for Hamburg in the North of Germany, the home of the friendly team of FC St. Pauli. They were awaited by a less stressful schedule comprised of sporting activities and participation in cultural events.

The main pillar of this week spent together was the effort to deepen the level of the teams' cooperation, personal as well as sport-related. Our Hamburg friends had prepared a range of exercises designed to improve the physical and football playing skills of individuals as well as the teams. The St. Pauli coaches eschewed pointing out inadequacies or mistakes for showing the players alternative approaches and methods of training, which were both challenging and entertaining for all those involved.

Both teams could utilise their new skills and experiences in the final match attended by the public as well as the city's prominent personalities, including the Honorary Consul of the Czech Republic in Hamburg, Peter Boué. The match did not go entirely smoothly for Avoy, seeing as they lost to the host team 0-4, though the result of the match in itself was not very important. Even though one might have expected to see the joyful winners on one side and the gloomy losers on the other, in the end everyone celebrated the mutual friendship between the teams and their love of sport, apparently capable of conquering any barrier.

This also showed in the activities following the match, as the teams toured the city, the port and the football stadium of St. Pauli, and spent lovely evenings full of music and dance.

More Information

Photo gallery

Bučovice Blind Football Cup

May 30 to June 1, 2014, Bučovice

At the turn of May and June 2014 we organized the 2nd year of the international tournament - Bučovice Blind Football Cup. Eight teams participated this time, Brazilian ICB-Bahia, English Worcester BFC, three German teams MTV Stuttgart, FC St. Pauli Hamburg, Chemnitzer FC, Greek Pirsos Thessaloniki, Hungarian LÁSS Budapest and Czech organizing team Avoy MU Brno.

The tournament system was therefore changed to include group matches as well as a thrilling knockout round. Not only the blind spectators could listen to professional commentary of each match or follow the online statistics of the tournament with the help of borrowed headphones. The tournament organizers used a brand new unique electronic match recording system, with the most important information about the current match displayed on two large displays near the field. Brazil's ICB Bahia defended their victory in the tournament, defeating Greece's Pirsos Thessaloniki in the final. Participants and spectators alike left extremely satisfied, as evidenced by their positive feedback, which we offer below.

More Information

All details including links to the final tournament report, photo galleries, participant feedback, media articles and reports, results etc. can be found on this tournament website.

Sabir Agalarov made a documentary about the tournament.

David Mycock and Darren Harris meeting Avoy MU Brno

June 11–14, 2014, Brno

Participants: David Mycock, Darren Harris, Avoy MU Brno, students of the Faculty of Sports Studies of MU, employees of Teiresias – Support Centre for Students with Special Needs.

David Mycock, former player and now a professional coach and an academic at the University of Worcester, did once again honor Brno with his visit. He has been a force behind the establishment of blind football in the Czech Republic, and he assisted at the founding of the first Czech blind football team, Avoy MU Brno.

The cooperation of Mycock and Avoy began in 2008 and it has lasted to this day. The extremely congenial gentleman, who was one of the coaches at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, acknowledged with approval the ever increasing quality of the Brno team and its assistants.

Mycock was joined on his visit to the sunny Moravian city the next day by Darren Harris, the excellent, wing-footed striker from the West Bromwich team. It was Harris's second visit to the Czech Republic in two weeks, as he had already showcased his skills at the international tournament Bučovice Blind Football Cup. The incredibly energetic, always positive Harris has achieved numerous sporting accomplishments. He is a regular feature in the list of most successful shooters of the British league, and he has represented his country internationally several times – he competed in judo at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, and was a part of the British blind football team at the London Paralympics in 2012.

David Mycock and Darren Harris were invited to the Czech Republic to cooperate in conducting two training sessions for Avoy MU Brno, as well as a workshop for interested members of public. Students from the Faculty of Sports Studies led by Alena Skotáková were also participated. Both Brits, along with Avoy's coaches, prepared a simple and entertaining cross section of the basics of the sport. The participants, aided by coaches and assistants, were able to try out spatial orientation skills, exercises for better team coordination, controlling the ball without sight, and playing alongside sighted guides. Interested participants could also hear Mycock and Harris explain the principles of blind football, and witness demonstrations of some of the more challenging plays.

The subsequent training sessions were tailored for Avoy. As much as Mycock was surprised by the progress the players had made, he however spotted several substantial imperfections, which he strived to point out and help the team improve. Mycock identified as critical the low level of communication between the players during the game, and the often considerable hesitancy of individual players. These failings were remedied by a series of simple exercises, which grew more challenging with time, while simultaneously getting under the team's skin. These exercises were very beneficial to the players, whose active attitude showed great motivation for improvement. At the end of the training sessions, these new skills were put to practice as the players enacted training matches, often testing their own limits.

After Friday 13th, which was devoted to celebrating the successful training program, David Mycock and Darren Harris could return home with smiles on their faces. They managed to bring the Brno team to results which, although they have to be further developed, constitute a solid foundation.

The Avoy MU Brno team will spend the following few weeks on a well-deserved break after a successful season. Their performance at tournaments abroad has showed the world a team in a good shape and on its way to pleasant surprises in the future.

The team can showcase its qualities as early as July 26, as they depart for a friendly match in the Republic of Ireland.

Report: Tomáš Hejl

More Information

Video documentary Darren Harris a David Mycock meeting Avoy MU Brno in Brno

Photo gallery

IBSA Challenge Cup

Avoy MU Brno players Jiří Fenz, Aleš Moravec, Jan Mrázek, Pavel Ondra and the coach Milan Duda represented our country during the international tournament IBSA Challenge Cup held in Prague – Březíněves. Moravec was a Czech captain, Mrázek guaranteed a final match with three goals and received also the fair-play award. The Czech national team defeated Belgium and Moldova 1-0 in group matches, the semifinal against Hungary ended up with the same score, unfortunately Czechs lost the final 0-2 against Belgium and stayed with silver medals. See photograps with text descriptions on Facebook of Avoy MU Brno or information and other pictures on the sites of BSC Prague, co-organizer of the event. You can also read in english reports offered on the sites of IBSA according to the following days: 10. 7., 11. 7., 12. 7. a 14. 7. 2014.

Friendlies in Dublin

July 26 and 27, 2014, Dublin

In Dublin we played three friendly matches with the Irish team BFI Dublin. We won the first match 1:0, the second match 2:0, the third match 2:1 on penalties (2:0 pp). All the goals from the game came from Honza Mrazek. Two penalties were scored by Pavel Ondra and Ondrej Gottlieb. The first Irish international goal was scored by Matthew Kearney.

More information

Photo gallery (author: Silvie Hrbáčková)

Summer camp with St. Pauli

August 29 to September 2, 2015, Bučovice

After a couple of months we met again with our friends from St. Pauli. From Friday to Tuesday we practiced, played and enjoyed our time together. Darren Harris came to visit us and led several training sessions, we tried ballooning or went to the pool. In the evenings we prepared a Czech-German futsal dictionary for the blind with Robert Fischer.

More Information

• Czech - German Blind Football Glossary (compiled by Robert Fischer)
• Photo gallery (author: Silvie Hrbáčková)

Cup of Central European Cities

September 6-7, 2014, Prague

At the beginning of September we went to Prague, where we participated in the Cup of Central European Cities tournament organized by the Prague team BSC Praha. We were drawn in Group B, in which we defeated Sprint Wroclaw and LÁSS Budapest 1:0 on Saturday, September 6, and lost 0:1 to the Italian team A.S.D. Liguria Calcio Nonvedenti. In Sunday's semi-final we lost 0:2 to Russian Zvezda Moskovskaya oblast and the exciting battle for third place with rivals BSC Praha was decided by two goals from Lukas Valer. Overall we finished 4th place.

More information

• Organizer's website about the tournament,
• photo gallery on Facebook.

7th Hallenmasters

October 3 to 5, 2014, Hamburg

Participating teams: Avoy MU Brno (Czech Republic), Chemnitzer FC (Germany), FC St. Pauli I (Germany), FC St. Pauli II (Germany), Five-A-Side Charleroi (B), SG Berlin/Braunschweig (Germany), BFW/VSV Würzburg (Germany)

After a long summer break, which the Avoy MU Brno team made up for with friendly matches in Ireland and a training camp in Bučovice, Moravia, in August, the Brno team took part in the Hallenmasters 2014 tournament in October, from which they brought back beautiful silver medals.

A significant change from last year was the organizers' decision to invite another foreign team to the tournament based on numerous submissions. The newcomer was the Five-A-Side Charleroi team from nearby Belgium. Another important decision of the Hamburg hosts was the formation of two St. Pauli teams, with one team represented by the youngest players and the other by the experienced, old matadors, who were considered by many participants to be the favourites of the tournament. To everyone's displeasure, the inconveniences associated with the upcoming fall became apparent. Illnesses and viruses affected the vast majority of the participants, and Brno was not spared from the weakened squad. In Hamburg, they had to do without Hegre, who was afflicted with a vicious illness, and Polášek, whose absence was excused by work obligations.

In the first match Avoy faced his traditional opponent Chemnitzer FC. The two teams certainly remember their matches from recent years. Chemnitz can't forget Brno's bitter defeat that led to a sweet first place in the tournament in Saxon Kamenica, and likewise Avoy's subsequent loss in Bučovice lost them a better position on home soil. Both teams' efforts were in the spirit of fair-play, and although neither team was able to build up a clear advantage, the German players eventually enjoyed a single goal (0:1), which was, unfortunately, the winning one, thanks to the merit of Jörg Fetzer.

The Brno team entered the second match against SG Berlin/Braunschweig with even more vigour. Trying to forget about the unfortunate previous game and with the hearty encouragement of the empathetic coach Duda, Brno managed to impose their own style of play on their opponents, dictating a frantic pace throughout. If we quickly look back to the past, and remember the cruel moments of the shooter Mrazek, who often lacked only a few centimetres to succeed, in Hamburg he clearly "murdered" the deadly killer with ease, and most of his chances went behind the back of the Berlin goalkeeper. The 3-1 result did not match Mrazek's tasty cannonade, but it was a promise that the goal scorer will continue to thrive.

The game against Belgian newcomer Five-A-Side Charleroi was rightfully within the bounds of embarrassment. As it turned out, the Belgian lion was not that inexperienced, and convinced the other teams of his now obvious qualities. The Brno team approached the Belgians in a very responsible manner. The game was not so open anymore, both teams rather focused on a more solid defence, which would significantly limit the attempts of quick penetrations and subsequent finishing. Defender Mrázková deserves unequivocal praise, as she ably assisted for the indisposed team captain Hegrova, and in many moments she surpassed the audience about her qualities. Though small in stature, yet big in spirit and heart, she bravely threw herself to meet the encroaching opponents. And very often she helped the goalkeeper Bukovsky in front of a clear goal scoring chance. The game was tough and demanding, and with the score tied, Brno could breathe a sigh of relief - even though the penalty shootout matadors Hegr and Ondra were missing, the final 2-1 win on penalty shootout was scored by Mrázek and Gottlieb.

The game with the German BFW/VSV Würzburg took place on the following day. Although AVOY had the upper hand against the opponent, the game did not bring any significant moments. Moravec stood out in the defense, besides the already mentioned Mrázková, a famous elder with a cool calmness, arousing a lot of respect from the opponents. The win was decided by the uncompromising Gottlieb and his playing partner Fenz, whose joy at scoring a goal was a gift for his commitment (2:0).

The last matches were tied with friendly affiliated teams from St. Pauli. Although the old guard was touted by many as the favorites who should have easily stood on the podium, unfortunate game performances literally brought them to their knees. A fantastic surprise, then, were the results of the younger years, who unceremoniously replaced their older teammates as kings of the tournament. There was no more sincere applause carried through the hall as the spectators and fans rightfully rewarded the St. Pauli kids for every goal they scored. It was all the more difficult not to cheer for the very opponents, the faithful friends from St. Pauli, and remain so true to the colors of their own club. The remaining matches were not heated and aggressive, and the players of both sides managed to maintain their mutual respect and humanity even in the heat of battle. Nevertheless, only the better team could win, and in both cases Brno was the more fortunate. They beat the young FC St. Pauli II by a difference of one goal (1:0) and they beat the old FC St. Pauli I by two goals (2:0).

We can talk about a clear success, behind which every member of Avoy stood without any doubt. Goalkeeper Bukovský seemed to mature with experience, and with his numerous goalkeeping miracles he managed to take the breath away from his teammates and the audience and give them many a heart attack. Shooter Mrazek confirmed his growing form and his unerring shooting instincts secured him the position of the tournament's top scorer. He was ably assisted by Gottlieb, without whom the team can certainly do without thanks to his active and tireless help between offense and defense. Moravec and Fenz gave steady and quality performances, who managed to support their team in many critical moments and rightfully earned their places. The indomitable wall was then represented by Mrázková, before whom even players of much greater proportions trembled. But we must not forget the navigator Graclíková, not only is she an excellent beacon behind the opponent's goal with her qualities, but she is also an iconic moral support of the team with her warmth. Of course, coach Duda deserves a lot of thanks as well, as he is able to put the right bug in his charges' heads at the right moment and always prepare the team tactically. The photographer Hrbáčková is also an integral part of the team, and she is the team's sweetheart. After a well-deserved second place, Avoy was able to add another significant victory to his account in the field of European tournaments. And we can only hope that Brno will repeat its successful campaign in Leipzig soon. The subsequent celebration and award ceremony was very friendly and light-hearted.

The line-up of Avoy MU Brno

Goalkeeper: Tomáš Bukovský, Players: Jiří Fenz, Ondřej Gottlieb, Aleš Moravec, Jan Mrázek, Martina Mrázková, navigator behind the goal: Jitka Graclíková, coach: Milan Duda, assistants: Tomáš Hejl, Silvie Hrbáčková.

Goals scored: Mrázek 5, Gottlieb 2, Fenz 1

List of all matches including results:

1. FC St. Pauli I - FC St. Pauli II 0:1
2. Avoy MU Brno - Chemnitzer FC 0:1
3. SG Berlin/Braunschweig - BFW/VSV Würzburg 1:0
4. Five-A-Side Charleroi - Chemnitzer FC 0:0 (pen. 2:1)
5. SG Berlin/Braunschweig - Avoy MU Brno 1:3
6. FC St. Pauli II - BFW/VSV Würzburg 3:0
7. Five-A-Side Charleroi - FC St. Pauli I 0:0 (pen. 2:0)
8. FC St. Pauli II - SG Berlin/Braunschweig 1:0
9. Chemnitzer FC - BFW/VSV Würzburg 2:0
10. Avoy MU Brno - Five-A-Side Charleroi 0:0 (pen. 2:1)
11. SG Berlin/Braunschweig - Chemnitzer FC 0:0 (pen. 0:2)
12. FC St. Pauli I - BFW/VSV Würzburg 1:1 (penalties 0:1)
13. FC St. Pauli II - Five-A-Side Charleroi 1:0
14. BFW/VSV Würzburg - Avoy MU Brno 0:0 (penalty 1:2)
15. Chemnitzer FC - FC St. Pauli I 3:0
16. SG Berlin/Braunschweig - Five-A-Side Charleroi 0:1
17. Avoy MU Brno - FC St. Pauli II 1:0
18. Five-A-Side Charleroi - BFW/VSV Würzburg 0:0 (penalty 2:0)
19. SG Berlin/Braunschweig - FC St. Pauli I 0:0 (penalty 2:1)
20. Chemnitzer FC - FC St. Pauli II 2:0
21. FC St. Pauli I - Avoy MU Brno 0:2

Final team standings:

1. Chemnitzer FC
2. Avoy MU Brno
3. FC St. Pauli II
4. Five-A-Side Charleroi
5. SG Berlin/Braunschweig
6. BFW/VSV Wurzburg
7. FC St. Pauli I

Author of the report: Tomáš Hejl

More information

Photo gallery for the tournament (author of photos: Silvie Hrbáčková)

Zbrojovka Brno juniors against Avoy MU Brno

October 12, 2014, Brno

On Sunday, October 12th, the juniors of Brno Zbrojovka came to the field in Horní Heršpice to play against players from Avoy MU Brno. Together with the players of Avoy MU Brno they formed 4 teams that played against each other. The mini-tournament ended with penalty kicks, in which Zbrojovka players showed their full strength. Both clubs successfully established cooperation and it is already clear that more similar events will follow.

More information

• article on Zbrojovka Brno website (in Czech, author: Martin Lísal)
• video documentary about the meeting (by Jaroslav Hajn)
• photo gallery of the event (author: Silvie Hrbáčková)

Blind football seminar with the Emil Foundation

October 21, 2014, Brno

In October, together with David Mycock, we led a futsal seminar for the blind, which was attended by social counsellors who were offered and financially supported by the Emil Foundation. The morning talk was complemented by a practical workshop in the afternoon.

More information

Photo gallery for the event (author: Silvie Hrbáčková)

3. Sächsischer Blindenfußball-Cup

October 25-26, 2014, Leipzig (Germany)

On the last weekend of October, the Avoy Brno team was invited to the third edition of the Sächsischer Blindenfußball-Cup 2014 in Leipzig. It was a tournament with international participation, which besides our team was complemented by a nice team LÁSS Budapest and the silver team from this year's Bučovice Blind Footbal Cup Pirsos Thessaloniki from Greece. From the German teams, there were the almost homegrown Chemnitzer FC, FC Viktoria Berlin who play this season in a mixed team with Braunschweig and our beloved FC St. Pauli. The tournament system was set for 2 groups of three, we were drawn to participate in group B with Berlin and St. Pauli. Saturday's schedule was dedicated only to the group fights, with the two semi-finals and the battles for positioning being played on Sunday.

The first match of our team was also the first match of the tournament and the opponent was the team from Berlin. After our recent 3-1 win in Hamburg, we entered this match as favourites, which was confirmed from the first minutes. Our star goal scorer Jan Mrazek supported by Ondrej Gottlieb kept the opponent's defence busy with frequent penetrations and did not give too many chances to the opponent's attacks. About halfway through the first half, Ondrej Gottlieb took a shot from the right side and from 7 meters he shot through everything in his way. 1-0. The joy of the goal was even greater because it was Ondrej's first goal of the match. After the change of sides, the game was still the same, played mostly in the half of Viktoria Berlin, who only sporadically got in front of the goal of Tomáš Bukovský, thanks to the good defensive work of captain Aleš Moravec and Vojta Polášek were unable to threaten the goal with any serious shot. The match ended in our favor and we could score the first 3 points in the table.

The next match of Group A was Chemnitzer FC and BSU Pirsos. The Greek team, composed of experienced players, managed to win convincingly 2-0, although their gameplay showed a lighter pace.

The third match of the day was against a friendly team from St. Pauli, who came to Leipzig with a rather weakened line-up. Missing were mainstay Serdal Celebi, both traditional goalkeepers Sven and Michael and navigator Miriam. The beginning of the match was similar to the first one, the attackers threatened the goal, which was defended by coach Wolf Schmidt and soon Jan Mrázek could hug with navigator Jitka Graclíková while celebrating the first goal. The Hamburg team was rattled by the goal, which resulted in several forays into our defensive third. One of them led to the equalization of the score, when 10 seconds before the end of the half Paul Ruge squeezed through the defense and with a shot to the far post surprised goalkeeper Bukovský, for whom this shot was the first ever direct shot on goal in this match. In the second half, the Avoy defense learned from a small mistake at the end of the first half and did not allow the opponent's attackers to seriously threaten the goal. Jan Mrazek, on the other hand, picked up the pace and increased the score to 2:1 after about 5 minutes. One minute before the end he even completed his hat-trick and set the final score at 3-1.

With six points in our pocket and the first place in the group assured, we could calmly follow the events in Group A, which would determine our opponents for Sunday's final. The results were as follows:

• BSU Pirsos - LÁSS Budapest 1-0
• Berlin - FC St. Pauli 1-0
• Chemnitzer FC - LÁSS Budapest 1-0.

BSU Pirsos dominated Group A without any problems and their opponent from Berlin was in the fight for the final on Sunday. Hungary's LÁSS and FC St. Pauli finished last in their respective groups and were going to play each other for 5th place on Sunday. Saturday's battles were followed by an afternoon of leisure, which was a visit to the local music museum.

On Sunday, the two semi-finals were first on the agenda, the first one pitting BSU Pirsos against FC Viktoria Berlin, with the Greeks again confirming their role as favourites and winning smoothly 2-0.

In the second semi-final we faced FC Chemnitzer, who we wanted to avenge the defeat from the Bučovice Blind Football Cup 2014, as well as the recent loss from Hamburg, which cost us the first place. We entered the match more active, again playing more in the opponents' half, but the three-man defence did not give Jan Mrazek or Ondrej Gottlieb any chance to shoot on goal. Chemnitzer FC, with Jörg Fetzer on top, only sporadically got in front of Tomáš Bukovský's goal and so the first half ended goalless. The second half was in the same vein, but the fatigue was evident in both our forwards. Fetzer hiding deep in his attacking half waiting for a long throw was an increasingly common sight and with the help of the referees and their questionably whistled direct kicks, he began to threaten the goal. From the second such standard situation, he dribbled past the defence from the left and sent the ball into the net under the falling Brno goalkeeper with a fierce shot along the ground to the far post. There were three and a half minutes left in the match. Jan Mrázek was still trying his last efforts to at least even the score, but he was facing four defenders and it was even harder to get in front of the goal. We were not able to avenge Chemnitz's defeat this time either, and this loss only sent us to the fight for third place, where the team from the group FC Viktoria Berlin awaited us.

The match for fifth place was between the ever improving LÁSS Budapest and FC St. Pauli. It was an even match, played for both goals, with our friends from Hamburg having more luck towards the end of the match, when Michael Löffler secured the victory with a wonderful goal.

After the disappointment of the morning's game, the Avoy team had to regain their mental and physical strength and try to fight for third place in the tournament. The opponents learned from Saturday's group match and focused on defending Jan Mrazek, whose smooth and handsome zigzagging between the opponents' players was awe-inspiring. The match was again played more or less on the opponent's goal, when both our strikers got a couple of shots, but the flawless goalkeeper from Berlin dealt with them. On the other side, the Brno goalkeeper had no work to do. The sporadic chances of Berlin's attackers ended outside the goal or with a timely intervention of the defence. This pattern of play lasted both halves and did not lead to a goal on either side. The winner therefore had to be decided on penalty kicks. Berlin's goalkeeper was the first to get to the goal and cannonballer Mrazek got to the ball. He scored with a hard shot on the ground to the left post, although the goalkeeper caught the direction of the shot. 1:0 for Brno. Then the goalkeepers changed. The shot of the Berlin player to the upper right part of the goal lacked punch and was easily defused. Jan Hegr, the traditional enforcer, was the second to take the penalty. His shot went a little higher than the previous attempt by his namesake Mrazek and was parried by the goalkeeper. The Berlin striker closed the second round with a similar shot to his predecessor and Tomas Bukovsky again dealt with it. Ondrej Gottlieb was in control at that moment and he hasn't made any mistakes in the penalty shootout so far. The weight of the moment seemed to have done its work and Ondrej sent his shot right of the goal, giving his opponent a chance to extend the penalty shootout. However, that didn't happen, as the third Berlin player didn't score either, sending his shot to the left of Tomáš Bukovský's goal and the Avoy Brno team could start celebrating the well-deserved third place after winning 1-0 after penalty kicks.

The final match was quite combative and the game spilled over from one side to the other. However, the experienced players from Greece gradually picked up the pace and kept the Chemnitz defence and goalkeeper more and more busy. This soon brought them 2 goals. Chemnitzer FC could only muster a few shots at the very end of the match, which only let the excellent goalkeeper Georgios Ampatzis stand out. A few seconds before the end of the match, the German team was given the advantage of a long penalty for accumulated fouls, the goalkeeper intervened brilliantly and did not allow David Lippmann to at least reduce the score.

During the closing ceremony afterwards the results of the successful tournament were announced and besides the medals for the first 3 places and the cup for the winners the organizer presented the fair play award to the LÁSS Budapest team. Well deserved. It was the last international event for Avoy Brno this season.

Report by: Tomáš Bukovský

More information

Photo gallery of the tournament (author: Silvie Hrbáčková)