Where are you going?

Booked a couple recently for 2023;

April - O Clássico. Benfica vs Porto.

November - Georgia vs Scotland, Tbilisi
Armenia vs Wales, Yerevan
Slovenia vs Kazhakstan, Ljubljana

Redbridge 1 Stansted 0. Essex Senior League tier 9. Cold, but not much wind so decided on a short 20 minute drive to Barkingside for the football. Redbridge are 2nd in the league (Enfield FC player/manager Jamie Cureton are top), Stansted mid-table. Redbridge in black shirts fading down to blue with blue shorts, Stansted white shirts, grey shorts (who wears that?) First half quite attritional with both defences on top. Stansted looked like they had sprung the off-side trap to create a 1 on 1, but lino flagged (I thought incorrectly). However no need for the tirade of abuse from the Stansted bench. A decision has been made. That's it. Was hoping for yellow cards for the bench, but the referee decided to have a word. 0-0 at HT and a coffee.
Second half, much of the same mid-field battle and not a lot of chances. Redbridge best chances from long throws or corners as they had a bit of a height advantage. Had seen the Stansted No.10 a few times (Ash) and again thought he was their best player. With time running out a Redbridge attack into the box saw the ball bobble and hit a defenders arm. Penalty, harsh I thought. Though the referee was adamant and no real complaints from the Stansted players. Keeper went the wrong way, 1-0. Stansted put a lot of pressure on in the last 10 minutes to try and force an equalizer, and subbed their No. 10. Didn't make a lot of difference. They didn't really have a decent shot on goal. On balance Redbridge just about deserved it.
Result
Redbridge £7:50 (£6 entry, 1 coffee, e-programme - which took an age to download. I hate e-programmes).
Attendance: 54

Longwell Green 3 Portishead Town 0. Toolstation Western League Division 1 (tier 10). April 1st. With most the West Country under water, finding a game was quite tough. 30mins of digging and my son came up with Longwell Green, just 20mins up the road from Bath. Scenic drive along the A431 and take the Cadbury Heath turn and there you are. Quite a big complex with the Football Club sharing space with the Community Centre. Loads of parking, quite busy. £6 to get in was fair and approaching the ground you could see why it was the only game on, 3G pitch. (Though surprised not any other localish Clubs don't have 3G). Big, well equipped bar area and good selection of beers. E-programme QR code was like finding a needle in a haystack. Finally advised to speak to the young lady at the cafe who pointed to a piece of A4 with a QR code on it no bigger than a stamp. Hey ho, at least I found it. Longwell Green (LG) playing in Argentina colours, Portishead Town (PT) in all red. LG were formed after the 1966 WC. PT were formed back in 1912 (St Peter's Portishead until 1948) by a local vicar's daughter. Not a lot of quality in the 1st half and LG didn't make much of playing with the wind behind them. PT had a big No 9 who most their play went through, but he just didn't have the pace or touch. A HT beer and a stroll back to the pitch in the spring sunshine. Quite a backdrop from the terrace with views across to the Cotswold escarpment. LG were definitely more fired up 2nd half and a glancing header from their Capt. put them 1-0 up. PT heads went down and never really threatened. LG scored another couple and were comfortable victors. Longwell Green have a very decent set up at this level and a were a very welcoming Club. Good luck to them.
Result
Longwell Green £16.40 (£6 entry inc e-programme, 2 pints of Heineken, 1 pasty)
Attendance: A real bumper 376.

Edit
1. I forgot to mention, both teams played it hard but fair. Respectful to the officials. Minimal bad language. A credit to both Clubs.
2. No persons of colour in either line-ups, subs, or coaching staff. Doesn't bother me in the slightest, just thought how unusual it was.
3. Point 2 is not relevant to Point 1!

4 man bob on the Club badge. Marvellous. 
You might find this thread of interest: German football and the battle for it's soul.
Eisern Union.

Was a bit gutted not to get a game in at either
Tennis Borrussia. Full original name: Berliner Tennis und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia, "give us the b, e, r," etc or
SV Tasmania Berlin. The worst team to ever compete in the Bundesliga.
In lockdown I spent way too much time researching German football. "Tor" is essential reading.
Enjoy Eichshatt. Has to be a joke in there somewhere.

With zero chance of procuring an Union ticket - other possibilities opened up. Thanks to the efforts of my son, a Friday 14th evening game was found.
FC Hertha 03 Berlin-Zelehndorf eV 1 SV Tasmania Berlin 2. NOFV-Oberliga Nord (tier 5).
Hertha are knicknamed "little Hertha" for obvious reasons. They play in blue and last spent time in tier 3 back in the early 90's. They play at the 4,000 capacity Ernst-Reuter-Sportfeld, most of which is terracing, but it does have a roof over the main stand and some seats. It rained a lot, the roof was necessary. A running track around a grass pitch.
SV Tasmania Berlin were formed back in 1973, effectively out of the ruins of SC Tasmania 1900 Berlin. And what ruins they were - the worst ever side to compete in the Bundesliga (see write up in the thread "German Football and the Battle for it's Soul"). SV away kit was all red.
So a fairly long trip down the U3 tube line to the "Onkel Tom's Hutte" stop, situated in the leafy and very pricey looking Zehlehndorf in south west Berlin. A 5 minute walk to the ground. A nice bar that welcomed you was empty. Oh oh. 1 beer and found a non-league paper and checked out the table. Hertha near the top, Tasmania mid-table. A short walk to the actual pitch revealed another small bar ticking over nicely with a barbecue on the go. Not a lot of people there for tier 5. It was drizzling though and 'big' Hertha were on TV that night - getting thumped by Schalke. Ironically I did a tour of the Olympiastadion earlier in the day. Surely one of the most historic, yet soulless bowls in world football. Back to Zehlendorf. There was a group of around 20 teenage Hertha ultras who shouted and waved flags and got thoroughly soaked. The game was an OK standard, but certainly not National League level. The very wet pitch didn't help. Tasmania went in 1-0 up. Hertha drew level. A beer and a bratwurst in the warm at HT. Bit more of a bite to things in the second half, but it looked like the game was set for a draw. Hertha clocked up about 5 yellow cards. Absolutely no back chat to the officials and no bad language (but then again my German isn't great). No need to insert a joke here about Germans obeying orders. Edged my way to the exit around FT. Just in time to see another Hertha yellow, and the resulting Tasmania free kick delicately flicked in over the Hertha goal-keeper - much to the delight of the 40 or so travelling Tasmania supporters and team. Justice pretty much done.
Result
Hertha Zehlendorf: 20 Euros. 5 Euros entry including a free programme, very reasonable! 3 biers und 1 bratwurst.
Attendance: Estimate 250, hard to gauge.

Saturday 15th April. FC Magdeburg 1 SV Sandhausen 2. Bundesliga 2.
Why Magdeburg? The only team from the old East German Oberliga to lift a European Trophy. Also the legendary Jurgen Sparwasser played for them, and of course scored the only goal in the only ever competitive fixture between East and West Germany. World Cup 1974 West Germany 0 East Germany 1. Tor!
Didn't look a long trip from Berlin Hauptbahnhof, however 1 hour 45 minutes later it did feel like a long trip to Magdeburg. Flat wooded landscape and hard not to think about the tail end of the war as allied forces approached Berlin from the west. Magdeburg was heavily bombed in WWII and not much of the old architecture remains. Quite a heavy police presence at Magdeburg train station. Rowdy, but not aggressive fans. No sign of any Sandhausen supporters, currently bottom of Bundesliga 2. Magdeburg were promoted last year and a bottom third finish looks on the cards, but safe from relegation. A 30 minute walk across the Elbe as the local bridge was having major repairs and no tram service I could see. Found a small bar on an island in the Elbe for refreshments. A 1pm kick off, arrived at the MCCD-Arena with about 20 minutes to spare. A big terrace behind one of the goals housed the ultras. A couple of chaps with a sound system and a couple of loud drummers orchestrated the very loud chanting. The crowd in good voice and a rocking atmosphere. Magdeburg in white, Sandhausen in green. A very disappointing turn out from Sandhausen. OK, it's 230 miles away, but must have been less than 50 away support. Sandhausen took the lead from a badly defended corner. It didn't phase the home support. HT grabbed an expensive 7 Euros bier, but you do get a 'team picture' heavy plastic glass as a momento. They'd probably charge at least £5 for the glass alone in the Premiership. Some slack Magdeburg defending allowed Magdeburg CB Dimich to slide in his second at the far post on 65mins. This did deflate the crowd. A lot of huff and puff from Magdeburg, but no real threat to the Sandhausen goal. Late on a rare piece of good interplay ended with a great strike from Magdeburg CB Piccini - sticking one in the top corner from 25 yards out in the 89th minute. Sadly, too little too late.
Back to the station with the Magdeburg supporters trudging back in the rain. Quite rowdy and drunken, but nothing untowards.
Result
FC Magdeburg: Euros 26.50. Entrance 16.50 Euros, 1 bier 7 Euros, 1 bratwurst 3 Euros. No programmes. Which I wouldn't have been able to read anyway.
Attendance: 23,156

Sunday 16th April. 12 o'clock kick off. SC Charlottenburg 1 Lichtenrader 2. Berlin Liga (tier 6).
A trek up to west Berlin to catch the early kick off at the Mommstadion, just a 5 minute walk from Messe-Sud station, walking (as happens a lot in Berlin) through a wood. Charlottenburg share with Tennis Borussia Berlin in the 15,000 capacity stadium. Not a problem procuring tickets. Though 7 Euros was a bit steep for tier 6 and a very sparse crowd. Charlottenburg (in white) have played as high as Bundesliga 2 in 1982-3. Currently bottom third. Lichtenrader (in black) are from south Berlin and have had a less illustrious history. Currently bottom of the Berlin Liga with just 4 points (4 draws) to their name. The bar was just about ticking over and SC Charlottenburg (SCS) shares the facilities with various other sports - as is very common in Germany - american football, hockey, handball... and even quidditch. One big stand with seating, and 3 terraces around a running track. SCS quickly pinned their opponents back and Lichtenrader were struggling to get out of their half. SCS went 1-0 up with the ball bundled in at the far post on around 25mins. Their dominance was pretty complete. They missed 3 or 4 clear opportunities to extend their lead and were very comfortable going in at HT. Ein bier 5 Euros, bit toppy. Second half pretty much all SCS. They rattled the cross bar and contrived to miss chance after chance. Around 80mins a rare Lichtenrader attack, the ball gets poked beyond the keeper, who brings down the player. Penalty! Dispatched. 1-1. SCS were obviously pissed right off and went hunting for their deserved winner. You know what happens next. Last couple of minutes, Lichtenrader break, there's a 1 on 1 with the keeper, the keeper is rounded and... TOR! A dozen or so long suffering Lichtenrader supporters go nuts and the final whistle goes very shortly afterwards. Yeah, I was there when Lichtenrader registered their first victory of the 2022-23 season. Marvellous.
Result
SC Charlottenburg: 17 Euros. 7 Euros entry, free program (well piece of A4 with the team sheet on it), 2 pints bier 10 Euros.
Attendance: Estimate 40-50.
Note on lower league attendencies. They looked very low vs English tier equivalents. Tier 6 (National League South) averages around 800... Perhaps there are just too many teams in Berlin - and Berlin is not a huge city. It does have a very rich history though. Hertha are dominant in terms of attendance in the west. Union go from strength to strength in the east. Smaller teams getting squeezed? Perhaps the picture looks different in the provinces. Anyway - the football is very good value and you have to wonder if British fans are just mugs for paying the prices they do.
Top attachment. Lichtenrader, ball in flight, score an unlikely and thoroughly undeserved equalizer from the spot.

Gatecrashed Tamworth’s promotion party at Redditch United this afternoon. Entertaining game which Tamworth won comfortably 3-0. Second goal was especially good -Tamworth’s winger outpaced two home defenders, put a great cross into the middle which their CF Kyle Finn finished with the outside of his boot. Danny Creaney is the fans favourite but didn’t think much of him as he wasted a couple of great chances when clean through on goal.

Home side did not offer much and particularly disappointing up front was our ex striker Bernard Mensah who was totally anonymous all match apart from one piece of trickery where he made some space for himself only to waste this with a weak scuffed finish straight at the Tamworth keeper. Exactly how I remember him in the small number of games he played here.

Best player on the park was Tamworth’s left back who totally owned Mensah in the first half winning every header despite being a good few inches shorter. He played so well that Mensah switched sides in the second half and it was his cross deep to back post that led to the first goal. The Tamworth fans didnt know the name of the fullback so may either be nee signing or home grown.

Tamworth fans were there in good numbers and sang lots throughout. They seem to particularly dislike Burton and Nuneaton Borough. Good day out and ground number 129 for me.