Way back at the start of the season, when Melchester were still little Roverinky, their first competitive opponents were KMK Dynamo Brno in a game the reds lost 1-0. So it was only natural that the rematch could be seen as a chance to gauge just how far, if at all, Racey's men had progressed.
A bright opening from Melchester bode well, yet with so many chances having gone begging in the previous game, no-one was relaxing on the pitch or indeed the touchline. It wasn't until set-piece specialist Matt Smith "won" (cue rueful grin) and converted a free kick on the edge of Dynamo's box that anyone even dared to believe it might be Rovers' day. A quick follow-up from Nordheim doubled the lead, and with debutant target-man Gio running rings around the opposition defence, all seemed well in Racey's Wonderland.
How quickly things change. Gio came off with the ankle bothers, then a rare defensive howler let Dynamo pull one back. With the balance of play shifting, the reds were increasingly forced onto the back foot, and it wasn't long before the equaliser came.
Kimbrell & Mestanek enraged Roy Race after paparazzi shots revealed them tucking into a mountain of ribs and glugging pivo just moments before the match
After a minimal halftime talk, a determined Melchester began the 2nd half as they had begun the first, and soon enough Robin Smith was gifted a chance silly mid-on, which he took beautifully to nudge Rovers back into the lead. The lead was once more doubled when Matt Smith blasted a shot through the defence and past a hapless keeper, and once more things seemed rosy.
In a shocking piece of refereeing, a 5th goal was disallowed after the ball was deemed to have gone out of play in the build-up. How that decision would come back to haunt Melchester.
The remainder of the game was a real blood-and-guts affair, with Dynamo's whiney little falling-over specialists doing their utmost to unsettle the brave and true heroes of Melchester. Again, however, Melchester were pushed deeper and deeper, and yet again were pegged back after enjoying a two goal lead.
Professional Norwegian and forward Vegard Nordheim would later accuse the Rovers of stopping playing once they were ahead, others pointed to a lack of match fitness, while some saw fit to blame the referee for disallowing what would have been a winning goal, but the fact remains that Melchester left the field with just a point to show for some sumptuous football. All is not lost however, as the reds retain 6th place, still in sight of those play-off positions.
KMK Dynamo Brno 4 - 4 Melchester Rovers (2-2 HT)
CosteaJ, MestanekM, SmithM(2), Gio, KimbrellC, NordheimV(1), SmithR(1), PagliaroJ, GolbanielN, HollandP
