Grounds for concern...: FK Spartak MAS Sezimovo Usti; Sezimovo Usti, Czech Republic

FK Spartak Mas Sezimovo Usti play in the third level of Czech football. I saw them on my October 2007 trip, when they were at home to Slavia Praha, from the top flight, in the last sixteen of the Czech FA Cup. Slavia ended up comfortable 4-0 winners. They actually play in the same division as the Slavia B team, and a few days later lost 2-0 to them in Prague.

Here is a poster advertising the game, on one of the municipal billboards in town.

I approached the ground up a pavementless road, with woodland either side. After about five minutes of 'following the crowd' you get to the entrance here.

Pay 50 Czech crowns, with a programme, and you're in here. Less than two quid, in case you're wondering!

Just as well there weren't actual turnstiles to squeeze through, if the size of this fan is anything to go by!

As you walk in you are behind the goal. The pitch is to the left. The building on the right houses the changing rooms.

An old ground, with a disused track around it. We are looking over to the far side, where the main stand is.

But instead of going right over there we go down the open left hand side, as we came in. An open side, with old bench seating, the start of which you can see here.

In parts many of the benches are no longer there, leaving just 'concrete stumps'.

In the corner here was the beer stand.

There's a good half hour until the the 3.30pm kick off, but the mid-afternoon crowd is already building up.

Where the benching is still in place it's not in perfect condition.

Here we look across the pitch to the main stand.

Back behing the goal where we came in we see the club shop table.

This is the changing room area, where the players will come out from.

And past this, parked away in the corner, is the Sparta Praha team bus.

From here we now start to turn down the main stand side.

And from this corner we look across the pitch, with the open side in the background.

As well as police, many big Czech games have the local fire brigade on duty.

Further behind them, still in this same corner, is a new all-weather pitch being laid, which is becoming more & more common at Czech football grounds.

I loved the old signage on the back of the main stand.

You can't beat the sausages in this part of the world. Delicious!

And here we look into the main stand.

At the back, in the middle, is an old fashioned, not working, scoreboard.

We pass the stand, and go to the far end, which is simply grass banking.

From here we look back into the main stand.

Kick off time, and the teams line up.

I managed to find a seat at the end of the stand, with others standing on the banking next to me. I took a snap of this young man here, as it reminded of the taunts to not very well supported teams back home: 'Did you come on a skateboard?' Well obviously HE did!

At the half time interval I wnet right behind the far goal.

Looking back at the main stand.

And the Slavia section towards the end of the open terracing. Though the segregation was strictly enforced, and there were lots of Slavia fans in other parts of the ground. Note the flag at the front saying 'Tabor'. Tis town is only ten minutes away from Sezimovo Usti by local bus.

And a snap trying to get in all the crowd on that side.

Going back round to the main stand side you can see how much the corwd 'overspilled' onto the grass banking here.

This is the banking at the other end of the stand, with the crowd around the perimeter barrier a fair way from the touchlines, in front of the changing rooms.