A Czech amateur regional league game on Friday ended up in one of the world’s longest-ever penalty shootouts with 52 spot-kicks, video footage of the game showed on Saturday.
Playing in the fifth tier of the Czech league system, SK Batov 1930 beat Frystak 22-21 on penalties following a 3-3 draw after 90 minutes.
The longest shootout in a professional soccer game registered in Guinness World Records mentions 48 spot-kicks executed in the final of the 2005 Namibian Cup, in which KK Palace defeated Civics 17-16 on penalties following a 2-2 draw.
In the game pitting teams from two small towns in the southeastern Czech Republic, Frystak had three chances to win the shootout at 4-4, 11-11 and 14-14, but each time their player failed.
In the 26th round, SK Batov midfielder Petr Janovsky scored, while Frystak midfielder Jan Hrebacka sent the ball over the crossbar, earning a relieved applause from 148 spectators, one of whom could be heard saying: “At last!”
The top-selling Czech Republic broadsheet DNES quoted Frystak chairman Vratislav Rudolf as saying he wanted to leave after the 20th round as “we had a barbecue at home.”
Hrebacka himself said his teammates did not blame him for the missed penalty.
“They were glad they could go home,” he said.
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