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.

GO AHEAD EAGLES (De Adelaarshorst)

EREDIVISIE, GO AHEAD EAGLES 2-2 RKC WAALWIJK, ATTENDANCE: 7,619

On day two it was a 45 minute train journey north of Arnhem to the city of Deventer. 

Deventer is the home to Go Ahead Eagles, who play in De Adelaarshorst Stadium . Built in 1920, De Adelaarshorst is one of the oldest stadiums still in use today. The capacity is around 8,000.

The club was founded in 1902 as Be Quick, although the name was soon changed to Go Ahead at the request of the Dutch Football Association. The suffix Eagles was added in 1971, after a suggestion from then coach, the Welshman Barry Hughes. Former Arsenal winger Marc Overmars started his senior career at GAE.

After being relegated from the Eredivisie in 1996, 'The pride of the IJssel' finally returned to the top flight for this season after winning promotion through the play-offs (they actually finished 6th in the Eerste Divisie).

Though they are currently in mid-table, tonights game against Waalwijk could arguably be viewed as a relegation six pointer. 

A Lively encounter which was all square going into stoppage time thanks to goals from Jop van der Linden (24) and an own goal from Xandro Schenk (64). 

The home team thought they had bagged the win and the three points with a 90th minute strike, Schenk making amends for his OG. However from the restart Waalwijk grabbed an equaliser when Romeo Castelen volleyed home to send the 300 or so travelling fans into raptures. 

Great atmosphere at a near capacity crowd. Tickets no issue after an e-mail to the club. Pre and post match spent in the excellent De Heks bar with it's 18 beers on tap.

The travelling Waalwijk fans

FC GRONINGEN (Euroborg Stadion)

EREDIVISE, FC GRONINGEN 1-0 PSV EINDHOVEN, ATTENDANCE: 19,776

After the shenanigans in Bremen the previous day, I came round, as opposed to woke up, in order to catch the 0854 train across the border into Holland. Destination was Groningen for their Eredivise game with PSV Eindhoven. 

The train stopped at the ground, which is about 1 mile out of town, and my first impression on alighting the train was this can't be the ground as we are in the middle of a business park and that looks like a block of offices rather than a football stadium.

Upon closer inspection it turns out it is a bit of both a one side of the ground is office space and the other side of the ground is a casino and Chinese restaurant (their all you can eat and drink buffet for 28 euros comes highly recommended).

Groningen moved to the Euroborg Stadion in 2006 after playing at the Oosterpark Stadion since 1933. It is a functional new build ground but the acoustics are fantastic and that made for a great atmosphere.

The crowd had plenty to cheer as well as their team produced a great performance to win the game 1-0. On any other day there could have been a sackful of goals, PSV probably guilty of missing 3 or 4 gilt edged chances.

The goal came early in the second period when the impressive Filip Kostic broke clear to slot home. It was Marco Bizot in the Green & White goal that was the hero of the day as he produced 4 top draw saves to keep PSV out.

Prior to the game I was told to keep and eye on two players on opposing sides as they are tipped for big things. PSV's Zakaria Bakkali is 17 year old Belgian winger and today he was a constant threat and arguably the visitors best player today. The other was Groningen's Richairo Zivkovic, who is also 17. He came on as a 2nd half substitute and looked a useful player with pace and a great touch. He nearly added a second late on for the homesters. 

After the match my friend and I headed into the delightful town centre where, slightly off the beaten track, we found a superb Belgian bar where we supped away into the early hours, whilst observing some local students making complete arses of themselves, some people eh?