SV Meppen 1-2 1.FC Magdeburg (3.liga, att. 8,389)
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| Welcome to ... |
For SV Meppen, a team
in northwestern Germany close to the Dutch border, times are good. Elevated to
the national 3.liga, crowds have increased five fold, so it was with some
trepidation I set off without a ticket.
I could always go in the away end.
Surely Magdeburg won't bring many on a Wednesday night? Wrong.
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| Not much space to be had in the away end. |
I arrived early,
early enough to set up camp (the tent was making its first team debut) and then
have a stroll to the stadium. I really
was early, too early to buy a ticket. Police
and hamburger men were setting up but with no sign of the ticket booths opening
I walked back to town, another 20 minutes away.
Meppen is a pleasant
enough place. Every other business was a
café. I purchased of a couple of
postcards from the tourist information and enjoyed an apfelstrudel before
doubling back to the Hansch Arena. By now
fans were making their way, down the only road from the town centre which leads
to the stadium.
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| The Big Match. |
The ticket office was
busy, but organised, and I was served promptly.
With a choice of standing areas, I elected for the southwest
paddock. Surely the ultras would be
behind the goal? Wrong again, though I cosied
up towards the halfway line away from the liveliness.
The Hansch Arena is a
little quirky, as the southern terrace is tight to the byeline, while the
northern terrace (which is half given over to the away team) is elliptical. I'm not sure why. There's no other evidence
to suggest there was a running track here.
The pitch is bordered by stands with seating above and a paddock
below. The east stand is the more
modern, larger and cantilevered. The
West has stanchions but is darker and more atmospheric.
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| The elliptical away end, earlier that day. |
The ground looked
packed, though with a crowd of 8300 this meant it was barely half-full. Two things: Firstly, this is what happens
when you cover the fencing with banners and everyone moves up the terrace. Also, how the hell does this ground hold
16500? With difficulty, I'd say. The seats looked sold out, apart from a few
gaps in the away sector.
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| Space in the away seats... |
Magdeburg brought
1000+, very impressive. Their fans were
perfectly orchestrated and to see these professional opponents must have put
into perspective how far Meppen have come. Maybe this nervousness was why the
Meppen full back played a suicidal back pass straight to the Magdeburg centre
forward, who was taken out by the keeper for a pen and a booking. 0-1 after 4
minutes. Could it turn into a drubbing?
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| Penalty despatched. 0-1. |
Fortunately not. In an open game, Meppen piled forward and
should have had 3 before they did get one, scrambled in off a corner. At half time I went looking for a programme (again). Everyone else had one. Musta been on sale outside. I had another sausage and beer instead and
took a pew behind the goal. The best
thing about my ticket was I could go anywhere in the Southern end while you
needed to show a ticket to get on the south west paddock. However, I didn't fancy battling through the
crowd to reclaim my old perch and, besides, I wanted a different view.
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| It was never the best view. |
The home side continued
to show attacking verve and missed a couple of easy opportunities (not easy
enough) and Magdeburg won it when a cut back was buried, low. Meppen coulda…shoulda….scored 5 or 6. That they didn't doesn't bode well in my book. Playing well and losing is what makes for a
relegated team. Time will tell.
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| Meppen ultras wave their flags. |
There’s also still no
admiration for the rise of Red Bull supported Rasenboll Leipzig, the fans of
both sides chanting ‘scheisse RB’. The
only other thing of note was the security, in particular, the proliferation of
police vehicles. I passed 9 vans and a
motorcycle on my first journey back from the stadium. Also, the supermarket, normally open till
midnight had been closed at 8:30 to prevent fans grabbing more beer afterwards. You can never be too careful with these football
fans.
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| Inventive ball-carrying system. |
I walked back,
intending to pick something up from the tent and then go for a beer. Instead, the rain started falling (doesn't it
always when you camp?) and I found myself all cosied up. Tomorrow, maybe.
The Damage:
€10 ent
€3 beer (400ml x 2)
€2.50 bratwurst (x 2)
€10 tent pitch
= €31
The Tunes:
Achtung Bono (Half Man Half
Biscuit)
Fabric 84 (Mathew Jonson)
I’m New Here (Gil Scott-Heron)
Aman Iman (Tinariwen)
Four-Calendar Cafe (Cocteau Twins)
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| Hansch Arena panorama. |
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| Behind the goal panorama at full-time. |
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| An old sign for the stadium. |
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| Back of the East Stand. |
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| Ticket booth. |
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| Stadium plan. |
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| Grafitti! |
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| Everyone seemed to be wearing #5... |
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| The home end. |
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| Matchday parking. |
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| East Stand and terrace, pre-match. |
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| Putting up a banner. |
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| East Stand. |
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| Welcome to...(II) |
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| Pre-match entertainment. |
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| Scoreboard. |
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| Sausage and wurst stall. |
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| West terrace. |
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| The teams come out. |
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| Magdeburg have a message for someone. |
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| Looking toward the away end. |
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| Full-time debriefs. |
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| The players' tunnel. |
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| Full-time. |
