MSV Duisburg 1-3 Kaiserslautern, Friday 24th July 2015

MSV Duisburg 1-3 Kaiserslautern (Bundesliga 2)

How do they make these things?

Thirty minutes in and your season is over, 0-3 at home to Kaiserslautern. There seems no hiding from the future seasonal paths these two will take - ‘lautern are (again) one of the pre-season faves while MSV, despite previous Bundesliga heritage and a healthy crowd today of 23,500 (double the last time I came), are expected to be mid table at best.  Still, for 12 minutes (!) MSV matched them as both sides tippy tappied it around to no avail. Then lautern just took off.

0-1 Fast move on the break, cross from right banged home on the run.
0-2  Comedy.  The MSV right winger passes back to the right back but he's not there.  Lautern clean through but he stumbles and takes it too far past keeper.  As defenders recover he hammers in a shot which hits a defender and goes in.
0-3  Through ball and centre forward lashes in a belter from 20 yards
1-3 A corner (?) late on is curled in and a defender heads home.

MSV idea to keep the score down

As I said, it was my second time here, more by luck than crook - it was the only Bundesliga 2 game on.  Also, it was a relatively short journey from Amsterdam, where I’d been based.  I was even so confident of finding the ground I didn't even bring a map; just turn right and follow the railway tracks. Only I followed some home fans and must have zigzagged even more than last time.

I got to the stadium in good time, about 2 hours before kick off.  Yet the home fankurve had already sold out. Dammit.  I had a feeling this might happen so I went to the away end on the off chance. Also sold out.  The cheapest seats were €20.  Well, I rather fancied being in the home end, so went back to the ticket office where I was bemusedly offered a ticket by someone needing rid of one (turns out it was his son’s, who was in the executive boxes today; for some reason the office was loathe to refund him and he gave the €27 ticket to me for €20). With €1.4:£1 at the moment this still represented excellent value.

Roll up, roll up, get your zebras here

So, in I went. I coulda had a beer outside from one of the pop-up vendors with their boxes of beer in ice/water. But I badly needed the toilet and settled on beer and wurst in the stadium.

Support for both sides was initially excellent.  The enclosed nature of the Schauinsland-Reisen-Arena means little escape for the noise and I was surprised at quite how loud the home end was. Unfortunately, the noise abated slightly as their heroes slumped to 3 goals down but they roused themselves, especially in the second half.  They weren't going to let the side down even if the side did

The mascot watches the game

One chant received support and rounds of applause from both sets of fans, as ‘Scheiss Red Bull’ rang out; everyone's least favourite side given a reminder of their place.  Maybe it was sung with such lustre because the game was on telly?  But I wonder, did telly turn down the volume?

Afterwards,  I didn't hang about, catching one of the (free) buses back to the station for a train to Dortmund where I was staying that night.  Must be up and ready for St. Pauli tomorrow! Attendance: 23,686 The Damage:
€20 ent
€2.20 wurst
€3.50 beer (x2)
€2 brezel
= €31.20 (£22)
The Tunes:
Drone Logic - Daniel Avery
Platipus Records Volume III - Various
The 3 EPs - The Beta Band

Things you can't do in England #1.

The stroll through the park towards the stadium.

MSV's odd turnstyle structures

Come On You Zebras!

The home end

I spot a team bus!

The away end

The stadium clears at full time.

After match interviews for the cameras