Monday 26 February 2018

A ten man win

Monday 26 February 2018, Ipswich Town Under 23s 3 West Bromwich Albion Under 23s 2 - Portman Road, Under 23 Cup

Down to 10 men but we kept attacking, great team display and a last minute winner- almost forgot the cold when watching.



Saturday 24 February 2018

Cold day, warm welcome

Saturday 24 February 2018, Cogenhoe United 3 Wellingborough Town 1 - United Counties League, Premier Division, Compton Park



Sunny but very cold but ground not frozen and had 4 games down on my list of possibilities - so why choose Cogenhoe?



First it was a local derby and expected a big crowd and both teams have had some good results but the main reason Cogenhoe was chosen s the club seem to know how to attract the dedicated groundhopper with just the simple task of communicating via twitter.



It amazes me how many clubs fail to keep their twitter accounts up to date and some do not even have a tatter account at all. When the cold weather arrives and we have the possibility of games being called off, an up to date club twitter account is a god send.



Cogenhoe not only welcomed us by twitter, they saved us two programmes and wished us a safe trip home - great service.



The ground is basic and gave little cover from the strong cold wind. The clubhouse was warm and welcoming but Cogenhoe do not have many fans and today the crowd was bout 70, and at least 20 of them were following the visitors. But this club still survives thanks to a small team of volunteers, however even with little money to spend, the home team seems to have no problem staying safe in this division.

In the end it is their football that keeps them up and they were the better team today with one of their forwards getting his hat trick with almost the last kick of the game.









Wednesday 21 February 2018

Not a year to remember

Wednesday 21 February 2018, Ipswich Town 0 Cardiff City 1 - Championship, Portman Road

We even made a poor Cardiff team look good

Tuesday 20 February 2018

Not on the grass and no points for Hennef

Sunday 18 February 2018, Hennef 05 0 FC Hurth 2 - Verbandsliga Mittelrheinliga, Stadion im Sportzentrum, Platz 1



The snow that caused the original game for Friday to be called off also saw changes at Hennef. the game still went on but it moved from the small athletics stadium to next door and an artificial surface. but it did not seem to bother the home fans as just under 200 turned up hoping Hennef would pull further ahead in the league they were dominating.




Maybe the Hennef players had thought they were already champions and spent too much time at the Christmas markets but certainly they were second best all over the park today and in the end FC Hurth could have got a few more goals.




will be interesting to see over the next few weeks or have Hennef peaked too early?









Forest football

Sunday 18 February 2018, 1.FC Koln Under 19s 2 MSV Duisburg Under 19s 2- Junior Bundesliga West, Franz Kremer Stadium.



On the outskirts of Koln to the north you will find a large open wood with lakes and open spaces for the city dwellers to get their fresh air at the weekends and amidst this wood you will find the training ground of 1.FC Koln.




In England now most of the top two divisions have great training sets ups for both the first team and their academy sides but the Germans have had the same for decades. Unlike England, in Koln you find no high fences and security men, the ground is just part of the wood and open to the public. A First team training pitch , overlooked by the club café, a pitch with an artificial surface being used by a junior woman's team and then a stadium, maybe just for training but even that had under soil heating.



The Franz Kremer Stadium is used by both the Koln U19 and the U23 sides. like our academy football the players impressed with their technical skills but unlike England the players looked more physical and there seemed to be very few younger age players on the pitch.



The visitors should have won easy, cruising at two nil up but then they started to sit back and Koln got two goals in the last 10 minutes.



Goat missed the excitement

Saturday 17 February 2018,  1.FC Koln 1 Hannover 96 1 - Bundesliga, Rhein Energie Stadium



Koln are bottom and it looks like relegation for them, but don't tell their fans - they intend to enjoy every minute they have left in the top league.



Great stadium to visit, great atmosphere outside, with the bars and food outlets on the large grass area between the ground and the road and once you get in the ground, the steep rake of the seats gives you a great view then you get the noise as the game gets closer, then an even bigger roar - not the team coming out but the mascot of the club - the goat, who arrives in his own special van.




The goat then spent the rest of the game eating hay and carrots but he left 10 minutes before the end of the game so missed the real action.



One, one and we reach injury time, Koln break down the right, low cross goes in - goal! Stadium erupts, everyone hugging and shouting, but wait- the video ref pops up and chalks the goal off. So a point a piece and that means relegation gets closer for the home team.



Maybe the goat, Hennes VIII should have stayed for the full 90 minutes?


Top league stadium, top league crowds but lower league team

Friday 16 February 2018, Rot-Weiss Essen 0 Bonner SC 1 - Essen Stadium, Regionalliga West



Meant to be watching the best ream in the league, Viktoria Koln but some unexpected snow meant a regional train to Essen for the first football of the weekend.



Koln may be top of the league but Essen are the most popular team, with average crowds of over 7,000.

Soon as I arrived at the ground, I was impressed, new stadium in an out of town car park but it had a football feel to it, all fans chatting, free programme and plenty of beer on sale - and being drunk. Great singing from the fans and plenty of encouragement for the home team but that did not help.



the team are poor, Dortmund and Shalke 04 are their natural rivals, but it will be a long time till Essen are ever playing them again if they do not improve on the pitch.




The other great thing about Essen is the history of their club is important, and around the ground are pictures and statues to remind you of the past and their links to heavy industry.