It was a mighty storm, both on and off the field. And at the end of it, Bohemians hung on to their second position in the standings. They are currently 2 points ahead of their closest rival, HFK Olomouc. The stadium in Ústí is under reconstruction; it would not be able to hold an expected invasion of Bohemians fans. That’s why the Ústí club opted to play its game against Bohemka in Teplice where the first division Teplice play their home games.
More than 1200 Bohemians fans arrived in Teplice in buses, trains and cars, creating a home atmosphere for Kangaroos. The city in the foothills of Erzgebirge Mountains is known for quick weather changes, but what happened during the game surprised even the local fans. The stifling heat at the beginning of the game gave way to dark, threatening clouds.
The game started with Ústí being slightly more active. However, soon the thunderstorm arrived accompanied by a torrential downpour. Only after 12 minutes of the game, the referee had no other choice but to send all players to the dressing room. It would be too dangerous to play with all the lightning in close proximity of the stadium.
The referee decided to continue in the game after 20 minutes when the worst was over. And the break was good for Bohemka. Kangaroos started dictating the tempo of the game on the soaked turf, creating some scoring chances along the way. They capitalized on one - after Ústí’s goalie could not cleanly corral Bálek’s shot, Kulvajt was right on top of the play to deliver the rebound in the net.
Bohemka continued controlling the game in the second half. When it seemed that the game was heading to a happy end for all the Kangaroo fans, Ústí struck. Bohemians defense left inexplicably one of the Ústí players uncovered and Sňozík had to come out of the penalty box and trip his opponent. The referee did not hesitate and showed him the red card. Bartek had to leave the field to make room for a substitute goalie Havránek. The young goalie had to face the consequent free kick without being properly warmed up. Unfortunately for him and Bohemians, the free kick was misdirected by the Bohemians wall, not giving Havránek a chance - 1:1.
Bohemka faced an uphill battle to score a winning goal while shorthanded. To their credit, green-and-whites pulled all the stops and put good pressure on Ústí, but without a success. At the end of the regular time the referee signaled a 4-minute overtime. And it finally happened in the second minute of overtime! Rychlík received a pass in the penalty box and without any hesitation fired a hard shot across the goal that ended up in the upper corner of the net. What a joy it was, both on the field and in the stands.
Bohemians will play the next game against Sokolov in Ďolíček on Sunday, June 3. The game starts at 5 pm. Advance ticket sales will start already this Tuesday at 11 am. Tickets can be purchased in the Fanshop in Ďolíček.
Event: The Czech Second League, 2006/2007 Season, 27th Round
Date and Time: May 25, 2007 at 6 pm
Stadium: Teplice (Na Stínadlech)
Attendance: 1820
Goals: 75. Fousek - 22. Kulvajt, 90. Rychlík
Yellow Cards: Hruška, Mašanský (both Ústí)
Red Cards: 72. Sňozík (Bohemians 1905)
Referees: Štěrba - Hrubeš, Mencl
MFK Ústí nad Labem: R. Novák - Palša, Džuban, T. Novák (86. Stárek), Dvořák - Zoubele (29. Mašanský), Karlík, Fousek (80. Procházka), Martykán, Hruška - Vondrášek
Bohemians 1905: Sňozík - Marek, Lukáš, Rada, Růžička - Bartek (75. Havránek), Adam, Škoda, Rychlík - Kulvajt, Bálek (76. P. Hašek)
