Geordie Al's Groundhopper Scrapbook: KAS Eupen 1-4 Royal Antwerp, Sunday 28th July 2019

Monday, 29 July 2019

KAS Eupen 1-4 Royal Antwerp, Sunday 28th July 2019

KAS Eupen 1-4 Royal Antwerp, 1st Division A, att. 4,000 (Stadion am Kehrweg)

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One of the advantages of a country of the relative smallness of Belgium is that if fixtures are kind, you can see two games in a day at the weekend. So it was, having seen Vinny Kompany’s return to Anderlecht earlier, I hopped on a Metro to Brussels Central and was straight on to a direct train to Eupen, near the border with Germany.

This also meant going without food, which cost me later (literally), paying about €6 for a bratwurst at the game. Scandalous, but if I said one thing about Eupen: there’s not a lot to it. Least not late Sunday afternoon, and least not near the railway station. I found a bar not too far away (near the bus station, handy for later). €3 for an Erdinger and the company of 3 alcoholics (4 including present company). A sign reckoned they had tomato soup on, but this did not look the place to eat.

There she is! Over there!

Having located the bus station (I was catching a bus to Aachen in Germany after the match) I walked to the stadium, a steep hike to the top of a hill. Good place for it too, as you could see the floodlights from miles away, even through the constant drizzle. I arrived with 20 minutes to kick-off. Plenty of time to buy a ticket, ‘cept they only had one ticket booth and 4 servers for a scrum of people. What did they expect on matchday? As the game kicked off, an official said we could now pay on the gate. Those of us near the front of the queue didn’t move.

The ticket frenzy.

Eventually, I got my ticket. Now, to get in. ‘No bags allowed’ I was told AFTER going through the turnstile. ‘Where can I put it?’ ‘In your car.’ ‘I came by train.’ This was the cue for junior to look for his boss and upon seeing the middle-aged English mess in front of him, he allowed me in. ‘We make exception.’ Splendid chap!

As usual, I’d gone for the cheapest option, a €15 ticket behind the goal with the ultras. Fortunately, there was plenty of space to the sides and I had the pick of the seating – or I could stand on a small paddock at the front. The stand itself, which towered over the rest of the ground, was one of those metal scaffolding constructions which for all the world look and feel temporary, though at least the roof supports weren’t as intrusive as at Kiel the previous day.

Outside of the stand I was in.

I had though missed a goal. Visitors Royal Antwerp were already leading and though they brought plenty of fans (at least a thousand) I couldn’t hear their cheers outside. They looked like they were having a whale of a time, especially as the goals flowed second half. I think every song they had was in English; certainly at 4-1 up they were chanting about being top of the league, but if you still want to hear ‘Let’s go f*** mental’ while fans bounce around ‘going mental’ (are we allowed to say this phrase anymore?), then Antwerp are your peeps.

The main core of the Antwerp support.

The rain at least brought a pace to the game. There was none of this slow, methodical, continental build-up play. This was ice hockey. Still, the equaliser came out of the blue, a cracker of a 25 yard curler, over the keeper and into the far right top corner. Stunning.

By now, I was hungry. Or hungrier. And so desperate was I that I was willing to put myself through their token system (once I’d found the booth selling tokens…at the far end of T3, the stand to my left). I’d seen the prices and was mightily surprised, but still, I’d only paid €15 entrance so why not splurge €8 on a bratwurst and a small glass of Jupiler? On an associated note, why, in a nation of beer drinkers is Jupiler, that most average of lagers, so popular? The bratwurst was nothing to write home about either. So much for being in the ‘German’ part of Belgium.

The Main Stand.

The equaliser had given Eupen heart and renewed vigour for the few hundred ultras, but KAS were no match for Antwerp…1-2….1-3…the game was over. But I’ll say this for the home fans – they didn’t leave. Unlike me, who nipped to the toilet for a pee and missed Antwerp’s 4^th. It was Royal’s day (or night), but I had a bus to catch. That slope would work in my favour this time.

The Damage:
€15 ent
€8 bratwurst and beer
= €23

The Tunes:
Four-Calendar Cafe (Cocteau Twins)
Black Sunday (Cypress Hill)

Stayed at: (cost)
A&O Hostel Aachen Hauptbahnhof, £14