Zbyněk Smetka: Scoring a goal in front of so many people is a great feeling. I’ve never been so happy about football

The duel between TJ Sokol Hroznovou Lhota and Agrem Vnorovy won the vote in the Our Football Live project. After all, it was also a duel for the first place in the 1.A class of Group B in the South Moravian Region. It should be noted that it was a derby, both teams are separated by only 9 kilometers. Zbyněk Smetka, a huge talent of the home team, who is one of the most important figures of Trauben, shared his feelings with us.

You’ve had a great experience. You managed to win the home derby match for the first place with Vnorov. How did you personally prepare for the match? Did you feel more nervous than normal?

Ever since we found out we were going to be on TV, I’ve been trying to get in the best shape possible. A week before the expected game, we all had it in our heads and were focused on it. As for the nervousness, it arrived unusually on Saturday.

On Wednesday before the game, Czech TV filmed your training. Did you realise at that time how important the weekend match would be?

I don’t know if it’s important exactly, but it’s rather big. We were expecting a lot of people and as soon as we got to the stadium on Sunday we knew it was going to be unforgettable.

You’re also studying college in Brno and you’re there during the week. Isn’t it time-consuming to combine training with school?

It was especially challenging to get home from the field on Sunday (laughs). School is quite time-consuming for me and I’m glad that at least I can somehow make it to practice on Fridays. I always look forward to going home, especially for practice and the weekend game.

As it is customary, during the Our Football Live clash, both teams had an ambassador. Your ambassador was former league footballer Michal Ordos. Did he try to give you any advice in the booth or did he leave the main word to coach Jaroslav Bíl?

He told us to enjoy the match and play our football. He high-fived everyone before entering the pitch. After the game he praised us and said goodbye. It was a good game.

You didn’t have a good start to the game, you were a little nervous. What was going through your mind after the goal?

It was a terrible feeling. When the opponent gets the lead, then he feels the chance and finishes you in every duel. Fortunately, we have an experienced team and we coped with the pressure. The opponent’s defence made it much easier for us. But again, I think our handling of breakout situations is really good. Vnorov also had some promising attacks, but they didn’t convert them.

Fortunately for you, everything changed after your beautiful individual action. First you went over three defending players and then you finished coolly to tie the game at 1:1. Do you consider this goal to be the most important of your career so far?

Oh, man, that’s a tough question. But I think it’s definitely one of the most important. I think it got the whole team and the fans really pumped up. But it was definitely the goal I enjoyed the most emotionally. To score a goal in front of so many people is a beautiful feeling.

A minute after the equalizing goal, you took the lead after a well-handled breakaway situation and a goal by Ondrej Březina and the scales tipped in your favour.

Yeah, another well-worked breakout situation. After that goal, our energy went up even higher. We got back to our game and finally got some relief. The home boiler and the whole stadium was fantastic and that gave us even more motivation to fight.

Ondra then added three more accurate hits and steered the match towards a clear-cut affair. You’ll probably replay this win in your head for a long time, right?

The whole Lhota will remember this forever. Of course, a win is great, but overall what was going on around made this football fest something special. From the start of the warm-up where a full stand watched us, to the entrance with the kids and the Champions League anthem, to the exuberant celebrations in the evening. I don’t know if I can ever experience football any more. There’s still not a moment when I stop thinking about what actually happened on Sunday.

But doesn’t the 1:5 result seem a bit harsh from their point of view, considering the game Vnorov played?

They played very well in the beginning, they rotated in the middle of the pitch and we had problems with attacking. We had been to a few of their games and knew what the key to success was. Vnorovy have some very good players in their squad, but we covered them.

They’ve been playing an awful lot of risk all season on defense. We knew we would have a chance from quick counterattacks. If you look at the number of chances, I think the score of the game fits that.

Something like 1,500 people watched the game on the pitch, another 59,000 people watched it on TV screens and 187,000 people watched at least part of the game. Did you sense a great atmosphere during the game?

What can I say, these are incredible numbers. I tried to enjoy it as much as possible. The atmosphere was electric throughout. It was great that the away fans came in large numbers. The post-match thanksgiving in front of the whole stand was also great.

At the post-match press conference, your captain Aleš Radmil mentioned that he was a bit worried about the nervousness because you have a relatively young team. Could you now imagine something like this ever happening again at Zelničky?

I could definitely imagine it. The whole football in Lhota deserved this event. I don’t even know a team in the area that has more fans than Zelnice. Anyway, I wish other teams could experience this event.

Maybe next year at the 80th anniversary celebration?

I don’t know what the management has planned, but as I said, it’s virtually impossible to experience anything more.

The commentators on the broadcast said several times that the turf looks really great, and even mentioned offhand that the league could easily be played on it. Do you think that Lhota may be in for its best football season ever?

Speaking of the turf, it’s second to none. The people who take care of it are heartthrobs. Most people can’t even imagine how much time they spend on the field during the week and we thank them for that. I’ve probably never enjoyed football as much as I do now.

The last few games I think we’ve been playing really good football. We’re doing great defensively and offensively. Plus, we get along with the guys off the field and we make a great team. You can say that we are doing well every step of the way and we are enjoying it a lot.

The team is now a great mix of experienced and young players. There are more leaders in the squad, but how do you view the presence of Ondrej Bila and do you think his influence on the team is crucial?

He is absolutely crucial, a leader with everything. He has the most experience of the whole team and actually both in training and in the game he is always telling us what to do. I’m sure he also includes Petya Lipcik and Ales Radmil.

This weekend you will play another tough match, this time on the field of Pohořelice, who are currently only three points behind you. Are you expecting a similarly tough opponent as Vnorovy?

I expect an even tougher match. Every away game is difficult. On Saturday the whole bus will go, so the support of the fans will be there again. But I believe we will confirm our great form and the match will be good again. We want to survive the winter break in first place.

Finally, I would like to ask you if you as a team, but also you personally have in your head the idea of winning the whole competition and next year maybe even play the regional championship?

I think nobody wants to go to the regional championship. It’s a day trip to Brno, where a few people come. Would we rather play derby with local teams like the aforementioned Vnorovy, Veselí or next year Kozojídky? (currently leading the table of 1.B class group C, author’s note.)

We want to win the competition very much, we will work even harder over the winter and try to prepare for the spring as best as possible.