CZECHOSLOVAKIA - SWITZERLAND 1-1
— Ferdinand Scheinost | 03/06/1924 —

On Wednesday evening the telegraph brought the news of a draw, you even learned particulars from which you could form a judgment of the bitterness of the fight, and yet — as I know you — you were certainly not satisfied. It was quite different for those of us who experienced that excruciating battle, in which the image of the game changed every minute as if in a colorful kaleidoscope. For a while it seemed to us that our victory was only a matter of time, in our bold imagery we already saw ourselves on the way to the finals, only to fall again into the blackest pessimism at the nearest moment under the impression of the shortest enemy offensive. The match, which in its first stages seemed to be one of our greatest triumphs, was played out under circumstances so extraordinary and exciting that almost all of us were completely exhausted from the nerves after the match, and there were not a few in our ranks who, having already seen their most beautiful dreams of Olympic victory torn apart by a rough hand, they burst into tears.

It is perhaps not suitable for athletes, but at that moment there were many more of us and perhaps only Czechs. After Čapka's expulsion, a full 44 minutes — i.e. almost the entire half — were played with 10 men against 11 Swiss. Two minutes after Čapek left the pitch, the Swiss equalized and, under the tumultuous incitement of both their own and the Parisian audience, tried to use our immediate handicap to win at all costs. They did not succeed, because at that moment they were opposed by a team for whom national sentiment was not just a phrase at this decisive moment. We were extremely happy, seeing how the cold hearts of the players, who are accused of materialism so much, were able to ignite for the pure idea of Olympic victory and how they gave their last strength, being determined to return either with the shield or on the shield.

The Parisian Czechs, who came to the Stade Bergeyre in full, took an active part in this unequal fight. To the shouts of boisterous encouragement to the Swiss team, there were sounds from all sides of the Czech field: "Guys. Czechs, hold on, 8 more minutes, 6, 5, 4, 2, just one more minute..." and finally the longed-for moment is here.

The referee ends the game. We are saved. Our team played with only 9 players in the last minutes. The French have been biased against us since Antwerp, the blows of fate that befell us and the immeasurable dedication of our players finally managed to soften even their hardened hearts and that is why our team was thunderously acclaimed when they left the field. The last player has not yet disappeared in the corridor of the stands when the official speaker announces that the rematch will be held again on Friday at the Stade Bergeyre.

The match, which we considered lost, ended in a draw after all. There is still hope for further progress at the Olympics, and therefore, after everything we experienced during those unforgettable 120 minutes, we can only be satisfied that it turned out that way. But we go into Friday's replay knowing that the forwards in today's lineup is simply impossible to be played.

HOW OUR TEAM PLAYED.

In the first half, our team played an "exhibition game". It stuck to the short ground feed system and had success with it as always. The pair Káďa-Kolenatý revived our memories of better times. Káďa, especially in the first half, was unbeatable. He could be seen everywhere, and at many moments it could rightly be said that Káďa was besieging Switzerland. It is not surprising that the forwards was well supplied with the ball in these circumstances. To their praise it must be admitted that they often combined quite well, that apart from a penalty kick the forwards did not score a single goal in 120 minutes of play.

Individuals in the attack cannot criticize each other much, because apart from Jelínek, not a single one satisfied. If I already mention Jelínek in praise, I cannot, on the other hand, mention the play of Vlček, who was the only one of the entire team to maintain complete desintressement during the entire match. In the half-back line, Červený did not fully fulfill what was expected of him, but one must consider who he was up against. After all, it is difficult to reproach him, if we know with what enthusiasm and vigor he went into battle, in which he had more goodwill than success.

Antonín Hojer was perfectly rehabilitated on defence. His performance was dazzling, so we were happy to forgive him for the match against Turkey. Seifert was a bit shaky in the first half, but in the second half he came back, unfortunately he was injured a few minutes before the end and it seems that he will not be able to play at the Olympics anymore.

The hero of the day, the man who saved us from defeat and exclusion from the Olympic tournament, was the goalkeeper, who took countless shots, some of them even with incredible luck, which is an inseparable ally of excellent players.

THE GAME OF THE SWISS TEAM.

We expected, according to the information we got from the last big matches of this country, a better game, especially in attack. If it was not given, we must not forget that everyone plays as well as the opponent will allow, and the halves and our backs did not allow much. In spite of everything we took away from today's match the best impression of the Swiss players, especially the forwards. However, they played too individually to escape the routiners à la Káďa, Hojer, Kolenatý, etc. The two wingers, despite being closely guarded, showed their class on many occasions. Of the forwards of the center, the inside left is the most dangerous, especially with its excellent shooting quality. The half-line and defence surprised us. They gave a much better performance than expected, but the good impression is partly spoiled by their somewhat hard play.

REFEREE NOR ANDERSEN.

The sympathetic Norwegian, who managed our first match against the Turks, proved his first-class quality in this match as well. Not allowing himself to be influenced by either the right or the left, he was unwavering in his decisions, not looking back at the favor of the audience. I praise him unreservedly, although he excluded the best forward of our team, Čapek, whose absence cost us victory yesterday and further promotion.

EPILOGUE.

The Swiss filed a protest against referee Andersen's individual decisions immediately after the match. They protested the penalty kick from which we scored and claimed the second goal as regulation. A meeting of the appeal commission (jury d'appel) was immediately convened to discuss the protest. After hearing from the referee, the protest was rejected and therefore remains with the originally scheduled replay on Friday at 5 o'clock in the Stade Bergeyre. At the same time, however, we were informed that the player Čapek is excluded from the entire Olympic tournament for his offense. We do not understand how such a draconian decision could be made, which cannot be justified by any clause of the tournament rules. We therefore immediately submitted a written report to the jury d'appel.

SENSATIONAL DEFEATS OF FAVORITES.

Today was a day of surprises. At the forefront of all interest was the match between Belgium and Sweden, in which Belgium was tipped to be the winner. In front of 10,000 spectators, Belgium suffered its biggest defeat in Colombes, 8-1. For us Czechs, the defeat of the Hungarians by Egypt was the greatest satisfaction, after their mischievous behavior during our match with the Swiss yesterday. The Hungarians, although they played in a complete formation, lost to Egypt 3-0. Italy had enough to do with Luxembourg and won narrowly 2-0, and Uruguay also did not show in the match against United States with such blatant superiority, as was the case against Yugoslavia. They won 3-0.