Greuther Fürth 2-1 1.FC Kaiserslautern, Bundesliga 2, att. 14,030
As long as you arrive in Fürth in good time, things couldn’t be easier. Follow a man (or woman) in green from the main station and there’s a bus takes you right to the stadium. Perfick. Whilst I had the directions to walk it, it looked a fair trek and I wasn’t against bussing it.
The bus dropped us outside some alcohol cash and carry: handy for those pre-match beers given the warm late summer evening. Walk around the corner to find a couple of stalls with a selection of t-shirts, badges, scarves, etc and the ticket booths were right in front of me. I asked for a terrace spot and there were two choices: the away end or ‘Der Lohner’ on the opposite corner of the same end. There was a seated area inbetween the two terraced corners which turned out to be quite sparsely populated. The main fan kurve, the ‘Nordtribune’, was sold out. I wasn’t too displeased, I didn’t fancy getting shunted about tonight, so I plumped for ‘Der Lohner’, since I was (!).
Aside from the seats behind one goal, it was pretty much a full house (14,030) for a match involving two sides tipped to be challenging this season. Even the Kaiserslautern seats were fairly busy, presumably cos their terrace sold out. Being a ‘top spiel’, Fürth added €1 for a ticket: €14 to stand. These 2 sides are tipped as contenders (indeed, after the match, a Lautern fan told me it was a big blow losing, cos this pair would finish top 2. There’s confidence – only 33 more games to go!
I enjoyed my visit to the Trolli Arena. It was a mish-mash of stands, with a small hotel in one corner, while the away end and ‘Der Lohmer seemingly built on scaffolding and the terrace made of bolted-on tin. (Presumably not tin, tho' I’m no expert on alloys. As shown if tin isn’t even an alloy. Is it?) It all has the essence of ‘cheap as chips’ about it, but it works.
Both sides looked good, intricate passing moves unfortunately breaking down short. Then, out of the blue it was 0-1. A corner flashed in and the ball was barged in via a head. While a Lautern player took the plaudits, I wasn’t convinced. Looked like a home head under pressure; but it was just what was needed as Greuther needed to score.
Duly, within a couple of minutes the equaliser came. How was it? I write this two days later and I can’t honestly remember. I do remember that straightaway both sides went back to cancelling each other out.
At half-time the entertainment was provided by a female fan trying to hit a gap in the net that had been mostly covered by an advert-strewn tarpaulin. Good challenge but a bit dull. The dinosaur mascot looked a little under-employed. Use him.
During the second half, Fürth’s #33 was outstanding up front, holding the ball up and taking the game to Lautern. Meantime, his opposition equivalent was struggling, constantly being pulled up for fouls (yet never being carded). And it was Fürth who nicked it, a far post header off a corner, I think.
Afterwards, I made the obligatory blunder on the way back to Nürnberg. I jumped off the bus at the Rathaus and had been advised to go one stop on the U-bahn to the hauptbahnhof (7 mins journey to Nürnberg). However, there’s not so many trains on a Monday night following a 20:15 KO, so I stood on the platform for the best part of half an hour, getting cold. I should have stayed on U1 – it only led straight to Nürnberg!
Attendance: 14,030 (Trolli Arena)
The Damage:€14 ent
€3 badge
€3.70 beer (500ml)
€3.50 wurst
= €24.20
The Tunes:
various EPs (Curve)
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Spiritualized)
 |
| Catch this bus. The one with the footballer on it. |
As long as you arrive in Fürth in good time, things couldn’t be easier. Follow a man (or woman) in green from the main station and there’s a bus takes you right to the stadium. Perfick. Whilst I had the directions to walk it, it looked a fair trek and I wasn’t against bussing it.
The bus dropped us outside some alcohol cash and carry: handy for those pre-match beers given the warm late summer evening. Walk around the corner to find a couple of stalls with a selection of t-shirts, badges, scarves, etc and the ticket booths were right in front of me. I asked for a terrace spot and there were two choices: the away end or ‘Der Lohner’ on the opposite corner of the same end. There was a seated area inbetween the two terraced corners which turned out to be quite sparsely populated. The main fan kurve, the ‘Nordtribune’, was sold out. I wasn’t too displeased, I didn’t fancy getting shunted about tonight, so I plumped for ‘Der Lohner’, since I was (!).
 |
| 1st sighting of stadium |
Aside from the seats behind one goal, it was pretty much a full house (14,030) for a match involving two sides tipped to be challenging this season. Even the Kaiserslautern seats were fairly busy, presumably cos their terrace sold out. Being a ‘top spiel’, Fürth added €1 for a ticket: €14 to stand. These 2 sides are tipped as contenders (indeed, after the match, a Lautern fan told me it was a big blow losing, cos this pair would finish top 2. There’s confidence – only 33 more games to go!
 |
| Lautern fans get the pat down |
I enjoyed my visit to the Trolli Arena. It was a mish-mash of stands, with a small hotel in one corner, while the away end and ‘Der Lohmer seemingly built on scaffolding and the terrace made of bolted-on tin. (Presumably not tin, tho' I’m no expert on alloys. As shown if tin isn’t even an alloy. Is it?) It all has the essence of ‘cheap as chips’ about it, but it works.
 |
| Odd gap in the stands |
Both sides looked good, intricate passing moves unfortunately breaking down short. Then, out of the blue it was 0-1. A corner flashed in and the ball was barged in via a head. While a Lautern player took the plaudits, I wasn’t convinced. Looked like a home head under pressure; but it was just what was needed as Greuther needed to score.
Duly, within a couple of minutes the equaliser came. How was it? I write this two days later and I can’t honestly remember. I do remember that straightaway both sides went back to cancelling each other out.
 |
| Welcome to ... |
At half-time the entertainment was provided by a female fan trying to hit a gap in the net that had been mostly covered by an advert-strewn tarpaulin. Good challenge but a bit dull. The dinosaur mascot looked a little under-employed. Use him.
During the second half, Fürth’s #33 was outstanding up front, holding the ball up and taking the game to Lautern. Meantime, his opposition equivalent was struggling, constantly being pulled up for fouls (yet never being carded). And it was Fürth who nicked it, a far post header off a corner, I think.
Afterwards, I made the obligatory blunder on the way back to Nürnberg. I jumped off the bus at the Rathaus and had been advised to go one stop on the U-bahn to the hauptbahnhof (7 mins journey to Nürnberg). However, there’s not so many trains on a Monday night following a 20:15 KO, so I stood on the platform for the best part of half an hour, getting cold. I should have stayed on U1 – it only led straight to Nürnberg!
Attendance: 14,030 (Trolli Arena)
The Damage:€14 ent
€3 badge
€3.70 beer (500ml)
€3.50 wurst
= €24.20
The Tunes:
various EPs (Curve)
Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (Spiritualized)
 |
| 2 stands and a hotel..only at Greuther! |
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| Souvenir shop |
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| View from the back over the bubble-roofed opposite stand |
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| Getting ready for live TV (watch out for the dragon!) |
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| The home end welcomes their heroes |
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| 3 rows of adverts...a record? |
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| Kaiserslautern Corner (far side) |
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| Hotel with view of the pitch |
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| The crowd awaits the teams |
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| Actually, there's more away scarves than home... |
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