Socially-distanced matchgoing - June 13th/14th

[jameswba]

This deserves to be a nil thread.

Having proudly claimed to be 'not missing football', I've now got a ticket for today's AS Trencin vs FK Pohronie game in the Slovak Fortuna Liga. The imposing of Covid-19 restrictions co'incided with the end of the league's 'regular' phase, so this is the first fixture following the split into top 6 and bottom 6. These two sides are at opposite ends of the bottom 6, with Trencin just missing out on the top group, and Pohronie (promoted from II Liga last season) three points adrift at the bottom.

Only 500 people can enter the ground altogether for a Slovak game at present. 215 of these are apparently needed to ensure the fixture can be played, and up to 285 are allowed in to watch. Trencin are playing this season in exile in Zilina, so have barely any season-ticket holders and were in a position to put 100 tickets on general sale. Even with such numbers, it may not be a sell-out.

I'd be looking forward to it, except that it's an oppressively hot day here, and there are thunder storms around. It might be a long 90 minutes for players and fans alike.

[imp]

The state of Hessen decreed that 5 v 5 contact sport is allowed again, so the Old Men's team at my club duly set up for practice on Friday evening. And I decided that after two and a half years of not playing, I was feeling fit and motivated enough to return to the field of play. So, with the score at 10-4 for the non-black shirted team, and with time almost up (most of the players were chronically out of shape), I decided that it was really worth while making the effort to track back and prevent the other team narrowing the score to 10-5 and went in for a full-blooded challenge on an opposing player who was through on our goal. I got the ball! He went flying! And I trapped a nerve in my back and have barely been able to move for two days (and on a regime of deep heat, ibuprofen, whisky and weed to counter the pain). A fully deserved punishment for my idiocy. Frau imp finds the whole thing hilarious in its predictability.

[jdsx]

went in for a full-blooded challenge on an opposing player who was through on our goal. I got the ball!

A likely story imp ! "I got the ball, ref!" Doesn't everyone you've ever sent off say that?
Best of luck with the recovery though!

[Sporting]

and on a regime of deep heat, ibuprofen, whisky and weed to counter the pain). A fully deserved punishment for my idiocy. Frau imp finds the whole thing hilarious in its predictability.

I hope she's sharing at least two of these painkillers with you.

[Ray de Galles]

jameswba Did you get to your game?

If so, please give us a report and leave no detail unremarked upon. I am insanely jealous.

[imp]

A likely story imp ! "I got the ball, ref!" Doesn't everyone you've ever sent off say that?
Best of luck with the recovery though!

Thank you! Thinking back, they did (erroneously, of course) actually give the free kick to the other team, but I was too busy grimacing to contest it. Sporting - at least three of them, but that's due to back problems of her own sitting at the dining room table for the past three months instead of in a proper chair. I've offered her my office for the duration, but she's too proud to take it.

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

This deserves to be a nil thread.

Trencin are playing this season in exile in Zilina, so have barely any season-ticket holders and were in a position to put 100 tickets on general sale. Even with such numbers, it may not be a sell-out.

I'd be looking forward to it, except that it's an oppressively hot day here, and there are thunder storms around. It might be a long 90 minutes for players and fans alike.

Are Trencin still in the process of rebuilding their stadium. I went there four years ago and they were s
just starting, then when I went last year, the youth team were still playing there and three sides were just piles of rubble, with the main stand untouched. Still, nice view of the castle.

[Big Boobs and FIRE!]

https://twitter.com/nonleague_train/status/1051047824438284288?s=19

[fatbear]

Looks like there was a decent crowd at the Valur vs KR Reykjavik match on Saturday. There don't appear to be any crowd restrictions in the Faroes either. Serbia has a limit of 1000, Lithuania a limit of 300 and Montenegro has a limit of 200. I think I read somewhere that the limit in Czech was being increased to 1,000 soon, but one Czech 2 game I saw some highlights of looked to have a normal crowd.

[jameswba]

Only 22 hours spent desperately hoping for at least one reply, so not too bad...

Trencin 4 Pohronie 0

We had our temperatures taken and were given free water on arrival. Quite a friendly, first day back at school type atmosphere among the 207 present.

As the Pohronie coach commented afterwards, Trencin should not be in the bottom half of the split. For 56 minutes, they were far too quick and slick. Then, already 4-0 up, they let the away side have a bit of the ball, and Pohronie did quite nicely with it, drawing three good saves from the home 'keeper.

The refs were having as easy a time of it as Trencin until Pohronie brought on substitute Patrik Abraham. Within about 10 seconds, he put his studs somewhere near an opponent's bollocks and was shown the game's first yellow card. Once he'd got that out of the way, he played quite decently.

Pohronie also had a guy called James Weir in their starting line-up. I'd never heard of him before, and looked him up afterwards. English, a former under-19 international, came on as an injury-time sub in a game for Man Utd under Van Gaal in 2016, 15 appearances in four years since for Hull (3), Wigan (4) and Bolton (8). Hard to have much hope for his career, though Slovakia was a good move for James Lawrence.

There is a video in this link showing Trencin's ground as it looked last week. Building inspectors, local politicians etc went to have a look :

https://www.astrencin.sk/clanek.asp?...mery-ASTV-8475

[jameswba]

Looks like there was a decent crowd at the Valur vs KR Reykjavik match on Saturday. There don't appear to be any crowd restrictions in the Faroes either. Serbia has a limit of 1000, Lithuania a limit of 300 and Montenegro has a limit of 200. I think I read somewhere that the limit in Czech was being increased to 1,000 soon, but one Czech 2 game I saw some highlights of looked to have a normal crowd.

I believe the Czech limit is now 2,500. Slovakia up to 1,000 from July.

[Third rate Leszno]

jameswba how did they enforce the social distancing, or didn't they? I notice from your photo on t'other thread that there weren't many in the stand opposite so did they have all 207 of you dotted about in the one stand?

[jameswba]

Yes, the stand you can see in the picture has just club functionaries and their guests, VIPs and whoever. All the fans are in the upper central section of the stand I took the pic from. They sold tickets only for alternate seats but obviously some small groups sat together.

We were supposed to keep face-masks on, but a lot of people ignored that as well.

[fatbear]

Interesting event in Montenegro last night. The limit for spectators is 200 but at the Rudar vs Buducnost match the home club allowed three times that number into the ground. The Montenegro FA delegate noticed this and delayed kick-off until the numbers were reduced. It was announced over the tannoy that if most people didn't leave the match would be awarded 0-3 to Buducnost, but nearly all the fans stayed and started chanting they wouldn't go. Eventually, after a number of appeals people slowly started to leave, and the match kicked off 50 minutes late. Buducnost won 4-0 so perhaps the fans should have stayed and got the 0-3 result !

[fatbear]

If anyone is interested here are highlights of the Trencin match watched by jameswba

https://www.fortunaliga.sk/zapas/1586-tre-poh

[jameswba]

Thanks for that. I'm somewhere in the stand opposite the camera. I think even this short clip is enough to suggest that Trencin No11 Osman Bukari is too good for the Slovak league, let alone its bottom six. There are rumours that this might have been his last game for Trencin, with Slavia Prague and Sporting Lisbon among the clubs interested in him.

[fatbear]

Yep, a goal and two assists. Looked decent in the highlights !