SV MEPPEN (Hansch-Arena)

3.LIGA, SV MEPPEN 2-1 SPORTFREUNDE LOTTE, ATTENDANCE: 7,448

After spending a few days in The Netherlands, visiting Enschede and Alkmaar,  I crossed the border into Germany for a weekend of Groundhopping across four leagues.

Hungover but with a free
t-shirt!

First port of call was the town of Meppen. After forsaking a revisit to Ajax, I decided to spend a day 'sightseeing' in Amsterdam so it was with a slight hangover I boarded a train for the 5 hour train journey into Germany.

Meppen is about 20 miles from the Dutch border and the football ground is about a 20 minute walk from the train station.

SV Meppen were formed in 1912 as Amisia Meppen. The club then joined gymnastic club Meppen in 1920 to form TuS Meppen. The football branch then left TuS Meppen in 1921 to form a separate club called Sport Club Meppen 1912.

The Hansch-Arena, as it is currently known, has been home to SV Meppen since 1924. It was renamed the Hindenburgstadion three years later to commemorate the 80th birthday of Reich President Paul von Hindenburg. The ground was renamed Emslandstadion in 1992, Emsland being the district in which Meppen is located, before sponsorship deals took over over in 2009.

The club has spent most of it's history in the lower leagues of German football but they did have an 11 year spell in 2.Bundesliga from 1987 to 1998. They dropped as low as the Niedersachsenliga (level 5) but returned to the third tier for this season after being crowned Regionalliga Nord champions in 2017.

The there was nothing riding on this mid-table derby, apart from local pride, and it was a hard fought game. Luka Tankulic headed Meppen into the lead after 5 minutes. Five minutes later Andre Dej missed a glorious opportunity to level things after being sent clear through on goal.

Tankulic and Thilo Leugers missed further chances for Meppen and Lotte could consider themselves fortunate to be just 1-0 down at the break.


Meppen came out firing for the second half but, as is usually the case after missing chances, they conceded in the 56th minute when Alexander Langlitz fired home for Lotte. Cue the pyro! Lotte nearly took the lead moments later but Maximilian Oesterhelweg fired over.

Meppen were not to be denied through and it was a goal worthy of winning any game. In the 68th minutes a cross came over from the left and an unmarked Max Kremer volleyed the ball into the bottom corner. A sublime strike.

The win sent the home crowd into raptures but unfortunately I couldn't hang around to join in the celebrations. I had to get back to the station in order to catch the last train back to my hotel in Osnabruck. A good game and a very good ground!

 

AZ ALKMAAR (AFAS Stadion)

EREDIVISIE, AZ ALKMAAR 4-3 VITESSE ARNHEM, ATTENDANCE: 16,067

Following to visit to Enschede, I headed to the north of The Netherlands to the city of Alkmaar. AZ Alkmaar were playing Vitesse Arnhem in the Eredivisie. The journey north took about 45 minutes, on the train, from Amsterdam Central.

This is the 10th anniversary season of Everton playing AZ Alkmaar in the UEFA Cup. This was a game which The Blues won 3-2 and famously ended AZ's 32 game unbeaten run at home in European competition. Unfortunately it was also a game which I could not go to so a trip to Alkmaar has effectively been on my agenda for just over a decade.

Alkmaar is famous for it's medieval architecture and it's cheese market. Unfortunately the cheese market is on a Friday so there was no Edam for me but there was, briefly, time to see some of the buildings in the city. There was time for some some pre-match imbibing at the excellent Cafe 't Kooltuintje and Proeflokaal de Boom. There were some excellent beers to be tried which meant a taxi to the ground as the clock was ticking towards kick off.

The stadium is about 5km from the centre of Alkmaar. The stadium was opened in 2006 with a friendly against Arsenal (the Gunners won 3-0). It was originally known as the DSB Stadion but became the AFAS Stadion in 2010 when the DSB bank went bankrupt.

Despite the commercial naming, the  ground is referred to by some as the Victorie Stadion, a name that makes reference to the victory over Spanish troops besieging Alkmaar during the Eighty Years' War. The tribune behind the goal where the AZ Ultras congregate is called the Victorie Tribune.

The ground has a capacity of just over 17,000 but plans for expansion were put on hold as a result of the DSB collapse, as they were the main financial backers. The ground replaced the old Alkmaarderhout stadium, which had been in use since 1948, which was demolished in late 2006.

Alkmaar Zaanstreek, to give them their full name, were formed in 1967 as a result of a merger between Alkmaar '54 and FC Zaanstreek. They have won the Eredivisie twice in 1981 and 2009. They reached the 1981 UEFA Cup final, where they were beaten 5-4 on aggregate by Bobby Robson's Ipswich Town.

The build up to tonight's game was dominated by the forthcoming KNVB Cup Final, where AZ will be playing Feyenoord in the final this Sunday, as they attempt to win the competition for the fourth time in their history.

Whether the minds of the players were focused on that game rather than tonight's, I do not know, but it was a fantastic game to watch as a neutral.

The game ebbed and flowed and the scoreline could have been absolutely anything. Us in the crowd just had to settle for the seven goals in the end!

Wout Weghorst opened the scoring for AZ after 7 minutes before the Iranian international striker Alireza Jahanbakhsh (12) doubled their advantage. However by the interval Vitesse were level as first Bryan Linssen (22) and then Tim Matavž (40) found the back of the net.

Jahanbakhsh (46) restored AZ's advantage seconds after the restart before completing his hat-trick in the 53rd minute. Mason Mount (66) made it 4-3 but despite pressure on the respective goals there were no more additions to the scoreline. A great effort from both sides and well worth the effort of obtaining a ticket.

Footnote: Feyenoord beat AZ 3-0 in the 2018 KNVB Cup Final.

FC TWENTE (De Grolsch Veste)

EREDIVISIE, FC TWENTE 2-0 PEC ZWOLLE, ATTENDANCE: 24,900

My week's European adventure began in the Dutch city of Enschede with FC Twente taking on PEC Zwolle. After landing at Amsterdam Schipol it was a 2.5 hour train journey east to the city. After checking in at my bed and breakfast, it was back into town to sink a few pre-match beers at the fabulous Eet- en Bierencafé De Beiaard.

From the main train station it was a 10 minute train ride to the ground which has it's own station, Enschede Kennispark. De Grolsch Veste is coming up to it's 20th anniversary, having hosted it's first match on the 10th May 1998, a 3-0 win over PSV. The new ground replaced the Diekman Stadion, which was originally the home of Sportclub Enschede.

Tickets were purchased online, printed at home and there no need for any fancard. I sat in the upper tier of the East stand, which afforded a great view of proceedings.

The current club was formed in 1965 by the merger of Sportclub Enschede and Enschedese Boys. Steve McClaren led Twente to their only Eredivsie title in 2010 (here is that famously funny interview clip, which is always worth a view) which is their only title win in their history, though Sportclub did win the league in 1926.

Having previously survived financial problems in 2003, when the club's parent company went bankrupt, the club were provisionally demoted to the Eerste Divisie in 2016 for financial irregularities, having been docked points (and also banned from Europe) on previous occasions in 2014 and 2015. The club won their appeal and kept their position in the top flight, which they had held since 1984.

However this season their luck could be finally running out and the spectre of relegation looms large. The club are currently bottom of the table, which is the only automatic relegation spot. Tonight was a must win game but not an easy task when you consider Twente had not won at home since October and hadn't won a game in the Eredivsie since December.

This clearly focused the minds and amazingly Twente pulled a result out of the bag. They were at PEC Zwolle, who also needed points in their push for European football, from the kick off and never gave the visitors any time to settle. The only surprise was that it took 21 minutes to make the breakthrough, Jeroen van der Lely scoring when a poor attempted clearance fell to him inside the area and he side-footed the ball home.

Michaël Maria made it 2-0 ten minutes before the break when he raced onto a through ball and then prodded the ball under the advancing Zwolle 'keeper. Inbetween the goals there was a contender for miss of the season as, when presented with the opportunity to roll the ball into an open goal, Fredrik Jensen proceeded to blast the ball over the crossbar!

The second half was a non-event as Twente seemed content with their lead and Zwolle failed to test Joël Drommel in the Twente goal. The noise inside the ground throughout the match was fantastic and the supporters really got behind their team, maybe that spurred them on a little more.

The other two teams immediately above Twente (Sparta and Roda JC) also picked up points in this round of matches so, with two games remaining, the best Twente can now hope for is a place in the relegation play-offs. Even by winning those two games though, they will be reliant on other teams doing them a favour to reach the play-offs.

Unfortunately, I have to say, It does not look good for Twente and they look like going from Champions to the Eerste Divisie in just eight years. 

An Easter Monday "Treble Header"

After a few great, if very wet, days in Devon attending the South West Peninsula League groundhop (if you search #SWPHop on Twitter there are plenty of photo's and reports for your perusal) I found myself waking up in Sussex for an Easter Monday treble header.

1100 - Southern Combination League
Premier Division
Haywards Heath Town 5-0 Hassocks
Attendance: 138

The rain continued to fall and plenty of games fell victim to waterlogged pitches. My first choice of game for the 11am slot was Haywards Heath vs Hassocks. I had the option of Lancing on their 3G as back up, but Haywards Heath tweeted to inform everyone that it was 'game on' it was to the Hanbury Stadium that I headed.

This ground has been on my radar for a while after a groundhopping mate of mine went there last season and showed me pictures of the fabulous stand that dominates the ground, which was opened in 1952 by former FIFA President Stanley Rous. By coincidence I am currently reading 'Black Coal Mornings' by Brett Anderson who is from Lindfield, a village which forms part of Haywards Heath, not that had any infulence!

Haywards Heath are having a great season and are well in the battle for promotion. A win this morning, over bottom placed Hassocks, would put The Blues top of the Southern Combination as the season enters it's final weeks.

After a laboured opening 45, where Melford Simpson gave the home side the lead just before the interval, the floodgates well and truly opened in the second half as Haywards Heath went nap. Inspired by half time substitute Alex Laing, who scored within seconds of the restart, Heath eventually ran out 5-0 winners. The other goals came courtesy of another Simpson effort (74) George Hayward (84) and Karly Akehurst (89).

The 3pm games continued to fall by the wayside as the rain continued to tip down. My second choice of game at Bowers and Pitsea was postponed so I looked at a 3G option at Walton Casuals. However a massive snarl up on the M25 put paid to that option. Another choice was East Grinstead but another snarl up around the Dartford Crossing meant it was doubtful I would make my third game at Aveley later in the day.

1500 - Isthmian League
Division One South
East Grinstead Town 1-7 Hastings United
Attendance: 124

I decided to settle for just the two games, and hope for the best regards a third. Off I went to East Court, the home of East Grinstead Town. They too had tweeted it was game on but they possibly had jumped the gun a bit early as, on my arrival at the ground, the chap on the turnstile said the match referee had yet to arrive and inspect the pitch for himself. My heart sank.

I paid my money and entered the ground, the guy on the turnstile explaining that refunds would be given if necessary. You could see the pitch had taken a battering from the overnight rain. As fast as the groundsmen were forking the pitch, more water was coming down.

East Court has been home to East Grinstead since 1967 but the two stands that sit atop the grass bank were erected as recently as 2008. After spending their entire existence in the Sussex Leagues, the club were promoted to the Isthmian League Division One South in 2014, where they have remained since.

Both teams were apparently happy to play and the referee gave it the go ahead, much to my relief. Despite a little standing water the pitch held up remarkably well and the ball was zipping about absolutely fine. Having said that, I wonder in hindsight whether East Grinstead had wished they had bothered!

The Wasps had secured another season of Isthmian League South football a couple of weeks ago with victory over fellow strugglers Ashford United. However this afternoon visitors Hastings United gave them an absolute drubbing. You could say it was raining goals!

Davide Rodari helped himself to four goals (22, 32, 64 & 81) with Owen Rowe (71) Sonny Dullaway (73) and Dayshonne Golding (76) completing the rout.  Stephane Bombelenga scored for the home side in stoppage time but I'm sure that was scant consolation.

Having checked the live maps at half time, Aveley was still a no-no but fortunately the traffic had relented by the full time whistle and the prediction was I could make it on time. I jumped in the car and headed north.

1800 - Isthmian League
Division One North
Aveley 3-0 Canvey Island
Attendance: 342

The prediction was spot on. The Dartford Crossing delay was around 10 minutes and, having bagged one of the last car parking spots, I was through the turnstile in time to see the teams enter the field of play. What a relief!

Aveley moved from Mill Field, which had been home since 1952, to Parkside at the beginning of this season. The pitch is artificial so there was no danger of any waterlogging here! The new ground cost just under £5M to build and is everything you expect in a modern football stadium. Grays Athletic also share the facilities.

Aveley are ensconced in mid-table in the Isthmian Division One North but visitors Canvey Island are very much in the play-off picture. However it was the home side that ran out comfortable winners 3-0. Myles Keizer-Burrows (30)  Thomas Richardson (41) Calvin Ekpiteta (90) scoring the goals.

Canvey Island had plenty of possession but didn't really trouble Rhys Madden in the Aveley goal. That concluded a fabulous day of groundhopping and I feel very, very lucky to have got three games in the circumstances. All that was left now was the long journey home...