Geordie Al's Groundhopper Scrapbook: Pogon Szczecin 0-0 Piast Gliwice, Monday 11th August 2014

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

Pogon Szczecin 0-0 Piast Gliwice, Monday 11th August 2014

Pogon Szczecin 0-0 Piast Gliwice, Ekstraklasa, att. 7,583

Nice day for it (pre-match queueing)

Should I have had that shower back at the hotel? Dunno. Did that 10 minutes cost me an hour, much like going to work in London - leave 10 mins later and you get to work an hour later?

I arrived in Szczecin (no, I can't pronounce it either, though under German rule it was 'Stettin'. See also Churchill's 'Iron Curtain' speech) sometime after 4:30, for a 6pm KO. I picked up a map, saw where the stadium was and thought 'no worries'. So I had my shower then headed for the stadium. Yes, I was late, but only by minutes. I was in the queue for tickets by 6:05pm. Mind, it was a bigger queue than I'd anticipated - how come so many others had left it this late?

Bizarre roof...

Time ticked by. You could hear the crowd inside the stadium chanting, you could hear the occasional ref's whistle. But the queue(s) barely moved. There were different signs for each queue and what with my Polish being up there with my Swahili, I had no idea what meant what. There was something about 'karta' in my queue, which brought to mind previous Polish matches and needing a membership card (Ruch Chorzow) or being sold a ticket on production of my passport (everywhere else).

Look-out tower? Exec boxes? Old folks' home?

Half time came and went, unlike the queues. We edged towards the ticket booths - a small trap of a window behind metal railings. And once near the front, the 'problem' became apparent. Every individual had to have their photo taken and every piece of their human existence entered into a computer (in my case, twice - typical IT probs) before your credit card sized membership card was spat out and you'd be allowed to buy a match ticket.

I know how he felt.

'Which part of the stadium would you like to be in?' I was asked by a pretty young lady in perfect English. She had a lovely voice. 'The cheapest', I said, given that there was barely half an hour of said game left.

The turnstiles were close by and I found myself behind the goal in the ultras section. The smell of dope was pungent, though not unpleasant. The cheerleader screamed into his mic, the drummer banged his drum and a thousand or so ultras chanted in unison.

There's something not right here...

The rest of the stadium occasionally joined in, though a goal might have helped (it finished 0-0). Pogon missed a couple of great chances in the limited action I saw.

Despite the blow of arriving so late (had I missed anything though?), I'd still recommend a visit, cos the stadium itself is unique. When I saw the stadium plan outside, I thought it was missing a part, but it wasn't. The stadium really is horseshoe shaped, with one stand not even running parallel to the pitch, so at one end, you are quite a way from the action. Then there's the stand opposite, with the oddest roof I've seen in a while. It looks huge yet only covers a small amount of seating. Hopefully Szczecin gets alot of sun, cos this was the only cover in the ground.

Give it up for...Ringo on drums!

As for behind the goals, at one end, a sea of nothingness, a bare space filled by vehicles, while the home end is on a curve. No running track (maybe there used to be one?) but a steep terrace covered in seats. Not a bad view, if you're high enough up. You actually enter the area from the top of the terrace, car parks and football pitches spreading out behind.

The club shop had a variety of stuff but no badges. Fans wore an array of t-shirts I liked, none of which were on sale amongst the official tat.

Pogon Ultras

Szczecin itself? Utterly forgettable city centre and 'stare miesto'. I really wouldn't bother unless you had a good excuse. (Is 'football' a good enough excuse? Perhaps not if you're a Piast Gliwice fan and the match is on a Monday night, on telly - cos I never saw any of 'em).

ps, I had one lucky escape. In my keenness to get in, I forgot to pick up my passport. After the match, all the windows were closed and I was starting to get a little worried. Thankfully, a rap on the window and the ticket lady appeared. She knew who it was and what it was for. Phew!

Attendance: 7,583

The Damage:
31 Plz ent (£6)

The Tunes:
Total Life Forever (Foals)
An Awesome Wave (Alt-J)
Black Sunday (Cypress Hill)