Where are you going?

£6 for step 5 is good value. Would be interested in details of the European ground hopping book. Off to Baden-Baden next month...

Enfield Town 1 Weston-super-Mare 0. National League South. Glory hunting on my first game of the season at the giddy heights of step 2. Just one junction on the M25, easy to get to, loads of free parking. Enfield were promoted via the play-offs last season and this was their first home game at this level. Enfield Town is a supporter owned Club formed in 2001 and now a division above 'the original' Enfield FC - who look like they are moving in the opposite direction. Weston were originally formed in 1887, disbanded and re-formed either side of the two world wars. Their claim to fame is that in their first 132 years, they were never relegated. Noted former player Ollie Watkins (on loan, 10 goals in 24). Notable current player Reuben Reid. Enfield play at the art deco, listed Queen Elizabeth stadium, but they are now calling it the Dave Bryant Stadium, which sounds less grand. Enfield in white tops blue shorts, Weston in yellow. Weston took control early on and dominated possession. Enfield were only edged out 2-1 away to Torquay away in their first outing, but they looked miles of the pace in the first half here. They hung on though. Some poor delivery from Weston in the final third and a few desperate Enfield blocks keeping the score level. Late on in the first half and a rare trip towards the Weston goal, a stupid lunge in the box - penalty. No complaints. 1-0 Enfield and I jumped into the short bar queue for HT refreshments. Second half Enfield looked a bit more composed on the ball and for 15 minutes or so looked the better side. Last half hour it was all Weston. But again the final ball was lacking. They rarely shot when they had the chance. Tippy tappy around the box until Enfield got a boot in and the opportunity was lost. A draw would probably have been a fair result, but Enfield come away with their first win in the Conference South. Only a couple of yellows. Officials did well. Enfield manager a bit gobby.

Entrance: £15. 36 page programme £3 (bit toppy, mostly adverts, but some good articles). 2 pints of Cruzcampo £11.
So all in all £29. As you approach the £30 mark, feels a bit more like you're a customer - rather than a supporter of grass roots football. They were charging £1 for the team sheet - a piece of A4 ffs! I am a tight arse though. I guess this is the problem with supporter owned Clubs who climb the pyramid - someone has to foot the bill for the increased overheads the higher you go.
Attendance: 769 (tbc).

Double header from Montenegro today

Pt 1 OFK Grbalj vs FK Lovcen a localish derby of sorts, home side bing really close to the apartment we are staying in and visitors from the town of Cetinje some 40 miles west.

Caught the second half on spec as kick off for my planned match (Bokelj) was shifted back an hour. Free entrance to the uncovered stand along one side of the pitch though there are plenty of free vantage points around the ground anyway. My new best friend G Translate helped me discover that at the start of the second half it was 0-0 and the home side were playing in Unterhaching kit of red shirts and blue shorts albeit with white socks instead of blue so I was kind of rooting for them. Predictably though they fell apart in the second half.

Their LB had a terrible time and gone done on the outside 3 times before being subbed . The goals that followed were also in part due to a defence that appeared to be non existent at key moments. First goal cross from right, unmarked forward who leaped into the air and steered the ball on the volley past keeper. Second goal left back done like a kipper, defence backs off inviting forward to shoot and he has plenty of time to pick out the corner of the net. Third goal LB again done, ball across the box straight to feet of LW who also has time and space to pick his spot. Grbalj missed a couple of presentable chances but Lovcen got a 4th in predictable manner as replacement LB was rounded and centred ball fell to the feet of an unmarked away player. Grbalj’s humiliation was topped with ten minutes to go when one of their subs was shown a straight red for a needless of the ball kick at a Lovcen player. It was petulant but not particularly threatening. Interesting to see what the ref blew for and let go. Plenty of sniper in the crowd fouls given but an agricultural challenge which totally flattened a Lovcen player went unpunished as did a couple of episodes of Lovcen players deliberately yeeting the ball away to prevent quick free kicks being taken - automatic yellow in UK.

Final score 0-4. Guessing attendance about 150.

Talking to my neighbour at the Bokelj game, Grbalj are limited because Tivat airport won’t let them have floodlights as the ground is bang under the approach path to the airport. They also have no money so cannot afford better players and have to sell their best to survive. I am currently watching one play for Bokelj and he looks an exciting bag of tricks. Report on that game to follow shortly


Edit - standard is about what I’ve seen at Southern League level

A Montenegro double header certainly raises the 'niche football report' stakes.
Makes me more determined to make the trip to Eisenhuttenstadt happen this year...

Witham Town 1 Sheringham 0. FA Cup 1st Qualifying round. Out in the wilds of Essex to Witham (sort of inbetween Chelmsford and Braintree). Witham are step 4 and Sheringham step 5. A very odd set up at Witham. Gained entry to the ground at 2:35pm, time for a pint. Nope. To access the bar you have to go back out through the turnstiles and round to the main entrance. Decent bar area, but with no access to the ground. Eh? Anyway, had a pint. No sign of a programme (paper or otherwise). An easterly breeeze meant it was decidedly chilly for August. The ground is quite barren. 2 small stands, covered terrace most the way round, but all a bit of a corrugated iron / meccano set feel to it. The London - Colchester trains regularly just behind one of the terraces behind the goal. Must be very bleak mid-winter. A very dry pitch and a bit bobbly. Witham white shirts blue shorts vs Sheringham in all red. Sheringham (The Shannocks) formed in 1897, a wiki entry reveals very little of note in their history. I know it has a nice upmarket beach though. Witham didn't take long to assert control and pin Sheringham back in their half. Witham hit the post and it all looked like a very one-sided affair. However HT 0-0. Second half the same story as it looked like men against boys. Then I overheard a conversation and it transpired that only one of the Sheringham starting XI was over 20. So it was quite literally men against boys. A bit of a kerfuffle just outside the Witham dugout saw a red card branded to the Ass. Manager. It was discussed quite loudly later by him... apparently a Witham player had called the lino a CU next tuesday. Lino flagged. Ref said "whodunnit"? And to avoid going down to 10 men the Ass. Manager said it was him. He is not expecting to pay the FA fine. Anyway the pressure told and finally Witham scored - placed low to the keepers left from the edge of the box. More Witham pressure, but no more goals. In fact Witham eased up and nearly conceded an equalizer late on from a long ball over the top. Would have been daylight robbery though and could easily have ended up 5 or 6 nil, but 1-0 enough to see Witham through. Unlikely to get through to Wembley though.
Entrance £10. No programme. 2 pints of Morreti £9.80. (Had to round up a card payment to £5, the other £4.80 with 'cash'.)
Attendance: 181

Hullbridge Sports 1 Buckhurst Hill 0 (Essex Senior League step 5). A 50 minute drive to Hullbridge - sort of between Chelmsford and Southend. It is very badly sign-posted from the A130 and Google directions bailed me out. Hullbridge were formed after WWII. Established by the owner of the Anchor Inn - the original Hullbridge shirt matched the colours of the pub flag - green and gold quarters. Sadly that has been abandoned and they now play in blue & white stripes, vs Buckhurst Hill (The Stags) in their away shirts red & white stripes. Big car park. 2 small stands as you enter the ground and a large well equipped clubhouse. One covered terrace behind one end, rest of the ground uncovered. A crisp pint of Staropramen and kick off. Overcast, with hardly a breath of wind. A very dry bumpy pitch. Stags settled quickly and were in control most of the first half. Their No.10 was causing problems, but Hullbridge hung on. Around 30mins in and a good cut-back from the Stags had the ball on the edge of the 6 yard box - surely he couldn't miss. He missed, the ball flashing the wrong side of the post. Stags did get the ball into the net around the 40 minute mark, but it was ruled off-side, and no complaints. Well apart from the Stags Manager who I remember from previous games keeps up a constant barrage of criticism against the officials and his own side. The officials did very well. I really don't know what his problem is. Second half Hullbridge stepped it up and looked the more likely to score. They also had a goal ruled out for off-side, and again no disputes. An open game, quite physical, but played in good spirit. The officials were very good. As the game headed deep into injury time it looked like a 'very good 0-0' kind of game. But no. A hopeful long ball from Hullbridge had a forward chasing a lost cause. As the ball approached the byline in the box it bobbled, there was a gentle coming together with the keeper and basically the forward fell over. Penalty?!? You what Ref?!? The home supporters actually started laughing. The officials had 95 minutes in total control and no mistakes and then this? It was an absolute howler of a decision. Hullbridge tucked the penalty away, and 2 mins later full time. I am not sure if the Stags manager spontaneously combusted or not.
Entry: £8. £1 for a small but perfectly adequate programme. 2 pints of Staropramen £10.
Attendance: 141
A lot to like about the Hullbridge set up. If you can find it.

As suspected guessing crowd tonight was about 1000 - 200 of which were from visitors Ungheni rattling around in the 30K+ capacity Ion Oblemenco Stadium, supposedly the 5th biggest in Romania. A stadium even more ill fitting for the club playing there than the ludicrous Reynolds Arena Darlington used to play in. Pretty low quality game with neither side really deserving to win. Craiova took the lead in the 10th minute when a cross from the right was flicked onto the head of a completely unmarked home player who really couldn’t miss from about 5 yards out. It was a shockingly bad goal defensively. Both sides created and wasted good opportunities through poor finishing mostly headers or tame shots straight at either keeper. Arguably the visitors created the better ones but neither keeper had a difficult save to make.

Lead was extended with about 15 mins to go with another terrible defensive show. Free kick from the left was placed right onto the head of giant CB who again was totally unmarked 5 yards out and could not miss. 2-0 then to Craiova. No player stood out for skill and quality but Craiova do have two of the shortest players I’ve ever seen. The Romanian one was quite effective but we did laugh at his little legs going like hummingbird wings to keep up with everyone else on the pitch. I reckon he might just about fitted inside a dalek.

The stadium itself is very impressive and futuristic and we had great seats on the halfway line for 20 RON each (about £3.30). Home fans did make a bit of noise but it was pretty lost given the empty seats around the small pocket of them. Craiova seem to have a bit of a chequered history and there are two rival clubs in the city who lay claim to be the heirs to a previous iteration of Universitat Craiova. Wiki did not give me any info on the visitors though they seem to be from a small town north of Craiova. This was the only league game on during our time here so Hobson’s choice. Glad to have done it for the ground but wouldn’t rush back for the footy which I don’t think was as good as Montenegro prem. Craiova is also a town that actually does merit the s**thole song unlike the rest of the country. Hoping that Saturday’s game in Chisinau is better fare

FC Victoria vs Speranta Drochia Moldovan L1 (2nd tier).

This definitely is niche even by my recent standards. 2nd vs 1st, at the grandiose sounding Joma Arena - a ground with one small covered bank of seats down one side and capacity of 2000 and nothing else. Standard of the football was about Bristol Suburban L3 if that. Home side made all the early running and took the lead with a simple goal - good ball played out wide to the left. Inch perfect cross onto the head of CF who headed back across goal into the left hand corner. They extended their lead shortly after when a quick raid forward was finished by one of their midfielders. Both sides created chances - most notably a Drochia long range effort which clipped the bar. They got back into the game with a rare home defensive error which left several players on the overlap, a quick pass out to their bunter in midfield and he lashed a shot into the top of the net. Victoria got a third just before the break when a corner from the right was headed in by a totally unmarked player. 3-1 then at half time.

Almost immediately after the break it became 4-1 when Drochia keeper treated a routine catch as if the ball were a wet bar of soap, popped it up and over his head leaving the Victoria player with the easiest tap in from a yard out he will ever have in his life - even the scaly thing couldn’t have missed it. Victoria had several good chances to extend their lead including a thumping free kick that came back off the post but the game petered out with a 4-1 home win. Comedy moment of the match was the Drochia subs warm up routine which they appeared to have lifted straight from the lead in to the Teletubbies. Att 13 (I counted them all) including 2 very soggy Brits. It’s been raining stair rods here in Chisinau all day and the only way this game survived was because it was on an artificial pitch. I swear one of the 13 was an old guy with a beard and plans for a large wooden boat tucked under his arm. They let us in free at the ground. No idea if this is normal or if it was because they were sorry for us looking like drowned rats. Great experience and pleased to have another niche groundhopping country notch on my belt

September 14th. Bundesliga. SC Freiburg 2 VfL Bochum 1. An early cheap flight from Stansted to Baden-Baden/Karlsruhe. Longish wait for a bus to Baden-Baden train station. Just missed a 'cheap' train, had to wait for an ICE train - which is twice as quick and twice as expensive. Anyway 40 Euros and I'm at Freiburg for 1pm. Followed the crowd to a tram and a 15 minute trip to the Europa Park stadium to the north of Freiburg. No bars or pop-up bars en route to the 10 minute walk to the game?!? Easy entry to the ground to be greeted by literally dozens of food & drink outlets. All well staffed. Hardly any queues, even at half time. Beer (Rothaus Pils, 5.1%) a very reasonable 5 Euros a half litre. The mandatory bratwust 4.5 Euros. I only managed to get tickets the day before - courtesy of the secondary re-sale market (not sure why they would leave general sale to the very last minute)? The ground is a little soulless, a relatively new 34k capacity concrete structure. The south end is a big terrace where I had my ticket. Another pocket of terracing on the north side - one for home, one for away supporters. The 'posh' seats didn't look 100% full. Bochum didn't quite sell all their allocation. Not a hint of trouble, Bochum fans mingling with Freiburg on the concourse. Great atmosphere on the terrace, which was full ages before kick off. An older couple had allowed me to squeeze off of the gangway for a great view. A very high energy game with both sides employing a high press. Freiburg more on the front foot and had a number of chances which they failed to convert. Late in the 1st half a rare Bochum attack and they had an overlap on their left as they attacked the South terrace. A ball whipped in and Boadu clinically tucked it away. Then a Freiburg mistake in mid-field and the Freiburg keeper is miles off his line, Miyoshi struck from his own half and the keeper scrambled back to just hook it clear off of the line and spare his blushes. 1-0 to Bochum at the interval and very much against the run of play. Half time beer and reclaimed my space. Freiburg kept up the pressure and it finally told. Adamu broke through, had a 1 on 1 with the keeper and he smashed it home in front of the south terrace to the keepers top left. More pressure ensued and after a Freiburg corner the ball pinged around the box and finally bundled in, again by Adamu. Another late Freiburg goal ruled out (quickly) by VAR right at the end of the game. Quick visit to the washroom facilities post game. Civilised queue and spotless. German efficiency and all that. A 15 minute walk to the Sbahn and whizzed back to Freiburg station. Then a walk back through the very picturesque cobbled streets of Old Town to the Schwabentor (historic gate} to the City. Walked up the hill to an excellent vantage point and found a bier garten overlooking the City. Enjoyed a couple of pints of Furstenburg lager and watched the sun go down over the Rhine valley. Yes, twas a good day.
Entrance: 22 Euros. Programme available - but quite big and my German is sub-optimal. 3 X Bier 5 Euros each, Bratwurst 4.5 Euros.
Free local public transport on game day. Note the entry price is LESS than a number of National League charge. Madness.
Attendance: 34,100