Anderlecht 1-2 KV Oostende, Sunday 28th July 2019

Anderlecht 1-2 KV Oostende, First Division A, att. 19,000 (Lotto Park, AKA Constant Vanden Stock Stadium)

Welcome to...

There’s no doubt who the ‘star’ is today: it’s the homecoming of The King, Vincent Kompany, parachuted in as player-coach and already everyone’s favourite player,  judging by the replica shirts and pre-match tifo.  What can go wrong?

This was the second visit I’d paid to the Constant Vanden Stock stadium.  The last time, they proclaimed to have sold out – in a European qualifier against TNS, no less.  Really?  Anyway, I took no chances this time, buying my ticket online using the print@home facility.  All very easy, though I’m not sure there was the need for me to take a selfie of myself holding up my passport.  I felt like one of those kidnapped types, holding up that day’s newspaper. 

There is a new leader in town.

The journey to the stadium was easy too, once I’d found the Metro station inside Brussels Central Station.  The signage could be a little more obvious.  Or am I a bit slow?  From there, it’s the #5 a few stops, to St. Guido and follow the crowd of purple-clad fans.  (Actually, ‘mauve’, but whothehell knows the difference?)

Pre-match throng amongst the bars

There’s plenty of bars around the stadium, which I chose instead to circumnavigate.  It looks old and tired from the outside (I know the feeling) and it’s no surprise Anderlecht are looking to move on, to some 60,000 superdome or other.  Not that they could sell out their 26,000 stadium today, Vinny or no Vinny.  I got my satchel in, despite signs that no bags beyond A4 were allowed.  The steward gave it a cursory check, which was lucky as I was carrying the hand grenade of the football supporter, a bottle of water.  Mind, temperatures were down due to earlier rain, which should help the football here in July.

Looking a bit dated...'Lotto Park'.

After Vinny’s splendid welcome, Anderlecht tore into the minnows from the coast.  It was 1-0 early on, a smart move ending with a side-footed effort into the top corner from 12 yards.  Then, with barely 15 mins on the clock, the #40 tore down the left, pulled it back and a wonderful turn and shot made it 2-0.  Only it didn’t.  In my 1^st experience of VAR live, no-one had any idea why it wouldn’t be allowed.  Celebrations were still going on as Oostende were about to kick-off, before the ref gave the VAR signal and ordered a free kick to the away side.

Two-nil.  Ho ho.

At this point, I think most of us expected 5 or 6 nil, but within a couple of minutes Oostende had equalised, a right wing cut back being missed by two attackers before a 3^rd swept it low into the corner.  Reward for getting numbers up.  The scorer then  proceeded to stop and hold his hand up in apology.  A former ‘mauve’?  I’m tired of this…

Half-time came with Anderlecht wasting promising positions but looking vulnerable on the break (their keeper making one amazing save).  That said, he wasn’t all that proficient with the ball at his feet and looked a liability in Vinny’s attempts turn Anderlecht into the Belgian Manchester City.  It’s also not helped by a slow, lumbering centre half – no, not Vinny, but his mate, who looked every inch the English lower division defender.  I predict neither he nor the goalkeeper will last long.

Reminds me of QPR's stadium...

Anyway, so it was.  Anderlecht were indeed vulnerable on the break and Oostende won it with about 15 mins remaining, a throughball and easy finish (I think).  The defence put their hands up for offside, but they’re no Arsenal c.1995.  And in these days of VAR, what’s the point?  An unhappy homecoming for Vinny, then.  If only they’d played ‘Things can only get better’ at full-time.

Despatches: There were 4 groups of ultras supporting Anderlecht, but one thing I’d never seen before was the mobile cheerleader.  Basically, this bloke with his speaker would wander along the seats, disappear down an exit and pop up at the next one, trying to rouse the hordes.  I wanted to tell him.  I’d love to join in, mate – but I don’t speak French.

PLEASE join in.  'Non.'

The Damage:
£26 ent  (print@home)
= £26

The Tunes:
Phantom Brickworks (Bibio)
Behind the Counter with Max Richter (Various)
Watermark (Enya)
Garlands (Cocteau Twins)

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

Constant Vanden Stock Stadium / Lotto Park panorama.

Residential street opposite stadium.

Entrance 2.

In case you forget.

Away fans.  Note the stickers on the glass to ruin the view.

The teams line up.

Full-time.

Looking to the far end.

Anderlecht chase a late equaliser.

Holstein Kiel 1-1 Sandhausen, Saturday 27th July 2019

Holstein Kiel 1-1 Sandhausen, Bundesliga 2, att. 10,103 (Holstein Stadion)

Welcome to ...

If today proves anything, it’s that a) I like to get value out of interrailing and b) I’m determined.  Having failed to get in previously at Holstein Kiel (sold out), I took no risks this time, buying a ticket on their website and arranging to pick up.  Going to Kiel, from Dortmund, and doubling back again, was out of my schedule, since deciding against going onwards through Denmark, but I had the bit between my teeth; I was determined to see Anderlecht the next day after another previous failure.

Hello sailor!

As for Holstein Kiel, worth going, but not worth going to see.  After years in the lower divisions/regional leagues, Holstein are on the up.  Now in their 3^rd season of 2^nd tier football, the last time I was here, they still had a small terrace arching around one end, the remnants of a former athletics track.  This had been replaced by a plain stand which dwarfed the other 3 sides of the stadium.  And what with it’s cheap ‘tinniness’, and supporting roof supports, it had an air of temporary about it – so it’ll be here forever.  There was a small paddock in front too, which, with the roof supports which you couldn’t help but be behind, gave it an air of the away end at Hillsborough.  So this was where I bought my ticket.

The view from the Ost tribune.

It started well though.  The lady at the box office complimented me on my shirt choice (a flowery effort, as befits the bloke over 40).   However, wrong box office.  The Ost Tribune had its own ticket collection point, which I must have passed as I came from that direction.  (I’d followed a father and son onto a #11 bus from the railway station.  Good job too, as I’d have had no idea where to get off the bus, it being a 10 minute walk through the backstreets).  I timed it well though, arriving 15 mins to kick off. 

The teams come out.

The steward, sceptical of my satchel, called for his boss.  ‘What are you planning to do?  Read?’ as he found two large tomes.  ‘It’s a long way from Dortmund’ I replied.  Anyway, the short of it was that Holstein is one of those places that won’t let you in with a bag, but they provided a man in a lorry, who gave you a bingo ticket in return for your possessions.  Fingers crossed my numbers come in…

An interesting collection of stands.

As I said, the stand looked temporary.  There’s no internal concourse, or toilets to speak of.  Instead, there's a fenced off courtyard behind the stand with a half a dozen beer/bratwurst stalls and portaloos a-plenty.  But it was glorious, as only German games in the summer can be.  Not wanting to miss the teams come out, I headed straight in.  My seat, near the front, had one of those pillars blocking the whole goal.  Luckily, there was a swathe of empty seats higher up.  Indeed, so high up that I could look down upon the rest of the stadium.

Home standing, home sitting, away sitting, away standing.

The stand to my right was an odd mix; from the far end it had home supporters standing…a no-man’s land…then home fans sitting…then away seating and standing.  And well done to the Sandhausen 80.  It might be the opening day of a new season, but that still doesn’t change the fact they’d have to get a 5:59am train to have a decent chance of seeing kick-off (presuming no delays)…and getting home at 5:01am the following day.  So that’s nearly 24 hours for a match by public transport and doesn’t even involve an overnight stay, for a journey of over 400 miles.  (Note: I didn’t see any Sandhausen fans on the 18:38 out of Kiel.)  Their support was rewarded though as Sandhausen took an early lead.  I hope none of their fans arrived late.  They doubled up on the left and the subsequent low cross was swept home.  The 80 went mad.  Kiel then survived a couple of chances for 0-2, while missing a couple of chances themselves.  It was all rather exciting, considering the heat. 

The Sandhausen 80.

One man not troubled by the heat was Sandhausen’s goalkeeper.  He looked like a man with plenty of time on his hands, judging by how much of it he was wasting.  Then, about to take a free kick, he sat down, apparently hurt.  Several of us took this as our cue for a beer and bratwurst.  And while I was stuck behind the only person more invisible than me in a queue for beer, there was a roar.  Let’s hope the keeper had recovered enough to pick the ball out of the net: one-all.  Two days and two matches running I'd missed a goal.

Milling around the beer and bratwurst stands.

I returned, never saw another goal…then got ignored for a beer again.  How do I get served 3^rd when there was only one person in the queue when I got there?  Kiel went close to a winner, but I was pulling for the little guys and never more so than when a late Holstein free kick, straight down the middle, cleared the Sandhausen defenders for a late arriving host forward to flick it goalwards…only for it to cannon back off the post.  No excuses, shoulda bagged.

Yep, I know that feeling.

Full-time, and all that remained was to pick up a programme someone had left behind, as well as claim the deposit on my plastic beer glass.  Then it was off to join the queue for the (S91) bus and the 3 mile journey back to the station and a return to Dortmund.  Now, let's just grab some beer for the journey...

The Damage:
€26 ent (+2 for pick up)
€4 beer (’Flensburger’ 400ml x2)
€4 bratwurst
€2.50 badge= €40.50

The Tunes:
Music for the Jilted Generation (Prodigy)
Fabric 84 (Mathew Jonson)
Drone Logic (Daniel Avery)
Music Has The Right To Children (Boards of Canada) 
Nowhere (Ride)
Prophesy (Nitin Sawhney)
Polymer (Plaid)

Stayed at: (cost)
A&O Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, £19

Holstein stadion panorama.

Back of the main stand.

The home fans greet their heroes.

Dugout action.

Is this the smallest stand in professional football?

Nice!

Best view in the ground.

Hang on, another midgety stand.

 

Pop-up souvenir shop.

Rot-Weiss Essen 2-1 Borussia Dortmund II, Friday 26th July 2019

Rot-Weiss Essen 2-1 Borussia Dortmund II, Regionalliga West, att. 14,497 (Stadion Essen)

Welcome to ...

So, here we are.  After a partner-induced year off, I’m back on the interrailling bandwagon, fitting in as many games as possible while some of Europe’s brightspots (and Essen).  And for once, I’m organised, a £49 single on the Eurostar to Amsterdam booked months ago.  Whatever the ecological arguments of train v plane, the ease of St. Pancras versus the hassle (both getting there, and once there) of Gatwick/Heathrow is undeniable.

The old floodlight lurks over Stadion Essen.

Unfortunately, I shan’t be staying in the Dam for long – just enough for supplies and a train to Germany.  Tonite it’s Rot-Weiss Essen, whose stadium I’d vowed to re-visit having previously only made it at half-time and let in for free by a kindly turnstile operator.  I owed them.  

I dropped my bag at my digs in Dortmund (ironic, considering tonite’s opponents are Borussia Dortmund II), then jumped on a direct train to Essen-Bergeborbeck, a 5 minute walk from the imaginatively entitled Stadion Essen.  It’s a new build, roughly on the footprint of the old stadium (one of whose floodlight pylons remained, stalking its new neighbour like a giraffe).  But it’s all a bit too sleek for me, 4 one-tier stands of matching height.  The ‘Main’ stand has its collection of executive boxes and about the only thins of note is their failure to stretch the full length of the pitch, thereby cutting the view of some seats in the wings.  Careless.

Looking towards the Main Stand.

The rest could be Regensburg, or Zwickau, or any other lower division German newbie: One end a home terrace, the opposite away end a mix of terrace and seats (leaning heavily towards the latter, even though the former is more easily filled by the visitors).  At Essen, there’s a decent space between the away terracing and seating, presumably to ensure those standing won’t affect any sightlines form the seats (something not considered with the exec boxes).  Meantime, either side is all seated, with one stand having some executive box facilities.  Normally, the vast majority of fans would be behind the goal, on the terrace.  But tonite is slightly different, a local derby with Dortmund’s second team has brought the fans out.  

A pre-match banner over the seats.

I considered going in the away end, mainly as I remembered how busy the home end was last time.  As it was, it made no difference.  Dortmund must have brought 1500+, a tremendous effort for a reserve side, but understandable in the scheme of things, local opposition and the start of the Bundesliga 2 or 3 weeks away.  Footie fans need their fix!

Borussia even have a banner for their RESERVE side!

So, with 15 mins to kick-off, I ended up in the home end (as it was the closest to the railway station).  I decided against an immediate beer: the queue was busy and besides, I’d had a couple on the train.  I wanted a VIEW, which didn’t look promising when I entered the terrace.  The steps, officiously kept clear at many a German venue, had fans milling on them and it looked busy, but I fought my way up a few rows and lent against the side of a crush barrier.  Perfect.

Rot-Weiss Essen line up.

The game wasn’t a classic.  Dortmund had 2 goals disallowed (I had no idea the 1^st one was; a goalmouth scramble, a ricochet, a rebound off a post) but RW’s scoreboard resolutely stuck to nil-nil.  It was warm though, and after 35 minutes we had ourselves a drinks break.  This was my cue to grab a schnitzel and a couple of beers (why have one when you can have two?)  Start as I mean to go on.  I AM on holiday.  Upon my return to the terrace, the scoreboard announced 0-1.  I’d missed a goal.  Typical.

Sustenance, Essen-style.

Chatting to a local, I asked where Rot-Weiss would come this season.  Based on the size of their crowds, they’re a big fish in a moderately sized regionalliga west pool.  ‘Somewhere between there and there’ he said, pointing at between 5^th and 8^th in the table.  Nice to hear a bit of modesty-cum-realism, as their crowds befit a side who should win this league.  Essen, is, after all, a city of half a million people.  On the flipside, Dortmund, Schalke…even Bochum and Duisburg…are on their doorstep.  ‘Who will be the challengers (for the title)?’  ‘Aachen, Wupertaker and Sportfreunde Lotte’, my sportfreunde said.  Time will tell.

The cheerleaders get the locals going.

As the terrace emptied slightly at half-time, I fought my way to the back for the 2^nd half.  I’m not a fan of watching a game through a net and being perched higher up can help negate this effect (though not totally).  It did look as if Rot-Weiss’s tactics remained the same: pass the ball backwards, backwards, square before kicking it forward and losing it.  The one player who stood out was Borussia’s #7, who played out wide, always looked comfortable in possession, never lost it…and was the spit of Marco Reus.  Was it Marco Reus?  Maybe playing a comeback game.  (No.)

The game drifted into nothingness.  Dortmund had a tricky (black) forward willing to run at the defence, but he wasn’t ably supported by the big (white) target man whose sluggishness matched his build.  Indeed, it was left to RW to form the only chance, the cross coming in…and the free header clearing the bar from 6 yards out.  Poor.

Tats out for the lads!

However, with 10 minutes left, the home side had a free kick 25 yards out, to the left of goal.  A shooting chance for sure, but any keeper worth his salt shouldn’t be conceding from there.  He wasn’t (worth his salt).  One-all.  No-one expected that.  Then, in the 6^th minute of injury time, a ball over the top of Dortmund’s defence.  The centre halves and centre forward chase it down.  The defenders attempt to close down the forward’s run, there’s a coming together and the forward goes down.  ‘Penalty’ cry the home end.  The ref gives it.  Mein Gott.  Never in a million years.  I can’t believe the ref has bought it.  No one cares.  Pen despatched the full-time whistle is blown.  Arguments break out on the pitch, while the home fans are joyous.  This was unexpected half an hour before, where even the famed German atmosphere was ebbing, with the home side looking unlikely to bag.  An excellent start to my latest marathon.

Full-time!

Course, it wouldn’t be a match if I didn’t mess up somewhere…#startasyoumeantogoon…I jumped on a train going the wrong way and ended up going to Dortmund via Oberhausen.  Word to the wise: next time, take one of them (free) footie buses to Essen Hauptbahnhof.

The Damage:
€11 ent
€4 beer (’Staunde’ 500ml x2)
€4 schnitzel
free: match programme/newspaper (picked up off terrace)
= €23

The Tunes:
Family of Aliens (Teleman)
Microshift (Hookworms)
Amazing Grace (Spiritualized)
Claustrophobia (Scuba) 
Pentamerous Metamorphosis (Chapterhouse/Global Communication)
Late Night Tales (Jon Hopkins)

Stayed at: (cost)
A&O Dortmund Hauptbahnhof, £19

Stadion Essen panorama

Leave your bottles here

The away end

There's even drums in the seats...

Here's a 1st: cheerleaders for reserve games.

Those crazy boys of Essen

Sunset in Essen.