SV SANDHAUSEN (Hardtwaldstadion)

2.BUNDESLIGA, SV SANDHAUSEN 0-0 VfL BOCHUM, ATTENDANCE:5,465

After collapsing into bed before midnight, I managed wake up and drag myself onto the 0827 train from Dusseldorf to Sandhausen, which involved a change at Mannheim.

It was a raucous carriage as it was full of Werder Bremen fans en-route south to Freiburg. The drink was flowing (they did kindly offer me a bottle but, in my fragile condition, I had to decline) and the music was blaring out classic hits such as Ma Baker, Rock me Amadeus and 99 Luftballons. All good fun but I'm not sure the couple sitting opposite me agreed judging by the look on their faces!

From Mannheim it was a short regional train to St Ilgen-Sandhausen and I arrived in the town about 1 hour before kick off. It took about about 25 minutes to walk to the ground, which is on the very outskirts of the town. The Hardtwalstdion is a mixture of stands which have clearly been built as the club as progressed up the respective leagues.

The population of the town is around 15,000 and SV Sandhausen is the smallest professional club in the second tier of German football.  Sportverein Sandhausen were founded in 1916 and spent most of their history in the lower leagues until before qualifying to be a founder member of 3.Liga in 2008. Sandhausen won 3.Liga in 2012 and promotion to 2.Bundesliga where they have remained thanks to consistent mid-table finishes.

The game finished goalless. I always try to be positive but this was definitely up there as one of the worst games I have ever seen and, as an Everton fan, I watched the Walter Smith era! 

The game was stop-start with lots of fouls and never really got going. There were half chances but, in truth, neither goalkeeper was truly tested as both teams effectively cancelled each other out.

Nonetheless, it was pleasing to get in a visit to the Hartwaldstadion. The only slight downside, for me, is the ground operates a card system, which I don't like to get involved with, so I couldn't even have a beer to numb the pain! Fortunately Kraftpaule in Stuttgart, which was my base for the night, made up for that with some excellent beers on tap.