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.

VITESSE ARNHEM (Gelredome)

EREDIVISIE, VITESSE ARNHEM 0-2 AZ ALKMAAR, ATTENDANCE: 18,200

Tonight was the beginning of a jaunt across The Netherlands to take in four games/grounds in four days. The journey began in Arnhem, a city synonymous with Operation Market Garden during World War II. 

The British 1st Airborne Division and the Polish 1st Independent Parachute Brigade were given the task of securing the bridge at Arnhem. The units were parachuted into the area on 17 September 1944. They were dropped far from the bridge and never met their objective. 

A small force managed to make their way as far as the bridge but encountered stiff resistance from the German SS Panzer divisions, which had been stationed around the city. The forces at the bridge eventually ran out of ammunition and were captured on 21 September and a full withdrawal of the remaining forces was made on 26 September. These events were dramatised in the film 'A Bridge Too Far'.

I also paid my respects by visiting the War Cemetery in Oosterbeek, which contains the graves of most of those killed during the September landings. Quite a sobering experience.

As a tribute, the rebuilt bridge was renamed 'John Frost-bridge'
after the commander of the paratroopers

Back to more trivial matters, it was a 10 minute bus ride from the main train station to Gelredome stadium.  Opened in 1998, as a replacement the Monnikenhuize Stadion (where Norwich City played in their famous 1993/94 UEFA cup run) the ground has a retractable roof (which was closed tonight)  and a pitch that can also be retracted when concerts or other events are being held at the stadium.

There were no issues with tickets and they were readily available to buy on the night.

Once in the ground, It was a strange sensation watching the match as it felt as if I was watching a game in a leisure centre! 

The atmosphere was pretty good until AZ Alkmaar took a 2 goal lead before half time. An own goal from on loan Chelsea player Patrick van Aanholt (20) and an Aron Johannsson (42) effort gave the visitors a comfortable lead.

At the interval lots of home fans began to drift away and the game petered out in the second period as Vitesse never looked like getting back into the game. The loss was their 3rd straight defeat and seriously put a dent in their title aspirations.

A flag in the home end illustrating
Arnhem's links with Stamford Bridge

Proper nutty - The AZ fans at the Gelredome