Borussia Moenchengladbach U23 1-0 KFC Uerdingen
Regional Liga West
24 September 2013
Grenzlandstadion
If I'm honest I wasn't sure what to expect from this game. Gladbach's juniors had been playing well and KFC were coming off the back of a 7-0 home hammering by league leaders Sportfreunde Lotte. But this being a derby anything could happen. What I certainly wasn't expecting was the somewhat unpleasant greeting we got from a local steward when informing us that, whilst we were welcome, the dog wasn't. This despite us deciding to go in the home end as we anticipated that the away end would be very busy. Not being one to take one man's opinion on a matter I thought I would seek advice from the local police who, whilst being considerably more friendly, said there was nothing he could do. The stewards had had their orders given the large expected crowd. He said they anticipated 3,000 (note the ground holds 10,000) I disagreed and said there would not be more than 1,500. PDM 1-0 German Police, the crowd was 933!
So Miss NAC agreed to stay with the dog whilst I went to the game. The game was settled as early as the 7th minute when KFC had their goalie sent off. I didn't see the incident as I was struggling through the massive crowd and trying to find a spot I could see from (yes I can be sarcastic I was fiddling with my camera!). The home team scored from the resultant free kick.
To their credit KFC's heads did not drop and to be honest they offered far more in the remaining 80 mins despite the man disadvantage and their fans (who made up the majority of the crowd and all the atmosphere) can be significantly happier with this performance than the previous one.
The ground is fairly dull, an open bowl and shallow main stand. The bridges at either end are unusual and the tunnel, under the near bridge, actually leads to a path that goes behind the terrace to the changing rooms behind the stand. Quite a walk for half time!
And so we return to Miss NAC and the banned dog. They spent a pleasant evening in the excellent bar attached to the neighbouring RSV stadium, the wonderful home of SV 08 Rheydt. I took some pics that you can find here. Given the choice I would go here rather than its larger neighbour.
So Miss NAC agreed to stay with the dog whilst I went to the game. The game was settled as early as the 7th minute when KFC had their goalie sent off. I didn't see the incident as I was struggling through the massive crowd and trying to find a spot I could see from (yes I can be sarcastic I was fiddling with my camera!). The home team scored from the resultant free kick.
To their credit KFC's heads did not drop and to be honest they offered far more in the remaining 80 mins despite the man disadvantage and their fans (who made up the majority of the crowd and all the atmosphere) can be significantly happier with this performance than the previous one.
The ground is fairly dull, an open bowl and shallow main stand. The bridges at either end are unusual and the tunnel, under the near bridge, actually leads to a path that goes behind the terrace to the changing rooms behind the stand. Quite a walk for half time!
And so we return to Miss NAC and the banned dog. They spent a pleasant evening in the excellent bar attached to the neighbouring RSV stadium, the wonderful home of SV 08 Rheydt. I took some pics that you can find here. Given the choice I would go here rather than its larger neighbour.