A bit late on this but I've been travelling.
I stayed in Bremen this weekend and took in three games starting with Osnabrück v Chemnitz on Friday. A pleasant afternoon in the local brewpub was followed by all kinds of fun actually getting in to the match. My chosen ticket turned out to be in the least accessible part of the ground, with access prevented by police outside the away end. Neither they, nor the local officials, could direct me to where I needed to be, being sent this way and that before finally a policeman was able to tell me that I needed to go all the way round the ground to find my entrance. A fairly even first half with only a penalty for the home team, where the player seemed to be on his way down before contact was made, separating the teams. Then in the second half Chemnitz fell to bits, letting in four quick goals before a late consolation. One more for the home side made it 6-1 before the referee called time bang on 90 minutes meaning that there was no added time in either half, despite there being a significant stoppage right at the start of the second half. It was very cold, so thanks ref.
On to Hannover on Saturday for the visit of Freiburg. Another brewpub and caught up in local Karneval celebrations. Hannover took the lead in the first half and once again no added time. Hannover scored again but Freiburg never looked out of it and then, as I was looking forward to another added-time-free game, they scored a late goal. Three minutes added on and very cold again.
To Werder Bremen v Wolfsburg on Sunday for another enjoyable match and a 3-1 home win. Very cold, obviously.
I had the option of a Regionalliga Nord game, Braunschweig II v St Pauli II on Monday but couldn’t face the cold again and a late train back so decided to give it a miss. Good decision as it was postponed.
Then a fairly straightforward return yesterday was thrown into chaos with two cancelled trains from Aachen, a ‘bus transfer, and a late-running train meaning I missed my Eurostar in Brussels and arrived home two hours later than planned.
I stayed in Bremen this weekend and took in three games starting with Osnabrück v Chemnitz on Friday. A pleasant afternoon in the local brewpub was followed by all kinds of fun actually getting in to the match. My chosen ticket turned out to be in the least accessible part of the ground, with access prevented by police outside the away end. Neither they, nor the local officials, could direct me to where I needed to be, being sent this way and that before finally a policeman was able to tell me that I needed to go all the way round the ground to find my entrance. A fairly even first half with only a penalty for the home team, where the player seemed to be on his way down before contact was made, separating the teams. Then in the second half Chemnitz fell to bits, letting in four quick goals before a late consolation. One more for the home side made it 6-1 before the referee called time bang on 90 minutes meaning that there was no added time in either half, despite there being a significant stoppage right at the start of the second half. It was very cold, so thanks ref.
On to Hannover on Saturday for the visit of Freiburg. Another brewpub and caught up in local Karneval celebrations. Hannover took the lead in the first half and once again no added time. Hannover scored again but Freiburg never looked out of it and then, as I was looking forward to another added-time-free game, they scored a late goal. Three minutes added on and very cold again.
To Werder Bremen v Wolfsburg on Sunday for another enjoyable match and a 3-1 home win. Very cold, obviously.
I had the option of a Regionalliga Nord game, Braunschweig II v St Pauli II on Monday but couldn’t face the cold again and a late train back so decided to give it a miss. Good decision as it was postponed.
Then a fairly straightforward return yesterday was thrown into chaos with two cancelled trains from Aachen, a ‘bus transfer, and a late-running train meaning I missed my Eurostar in Brussels and arrived home two hours later than planned.
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