La Calamine 0-0 FCV Dender EH
Stade Price Phillipe
31/10/12
Att: ~200
I'm not sure how I managed to take so many photo's......
With a free afternoon and this game kicking off early it was off to Belgium we went. Situated in the German speaking province of Belgium, more specifically the small town of Kelmis. Such is it's proximity to the German border we arrived via Aachen. The ground would've been a bit of a pin to find without a sat-nav tucked behind some housing but we found it easily enough. Parking was easy, also, with us parking behind one goal.
What struck me most was the contrast of this ground to other grounds in the 3rd division, even with current building work. At present 3 sides remain undeveloped. The side that is developed is fairly decent, built upon a slope. The current clubhouse is nice enough with good views over the pitch. The Bar is in the middle of this with signs like "haupt tribune" and "Nordkurve" being hung above each end. Currently being built on the end of this is what appears to be a new clubhouse/stand. The roof is going to overhang to provide covered seating. Currently the ground has no seating, with the only form of cover being over a small terrace. The interesting point about this ground is the players warm up on the 3G pitch next to the entrance, then go down some steps outside the clubhouse to the Changing rooms. The Tunnel then comes out under the Clubhouse. Because of this the second section of terrace is cut off so to access it and the press box you have to walk over the tunnel.
The game started rather drab with barely a shot on target mustered between the two teams. This was to be surprised with Phil saying his visit to Dender was as close as he has been to giving up on football. The first decent chance of the game finally came in the 28th minute, a volley dipped towards the la calamine goalie who didn't risk catching it so punched it out for a corner. Seconds later the home team had an even better chance with a volley from outside the area. The ball flying towards the top corner was saved acrobatically by the sender keeper, sending the ball round the post for a corner. That was it in terms of first half entertainment as the teams went in at 0-0.
The second half followed the same pattern in terms of excitement, but Sender clearly had the greater share of possession. There was some excitement in the 30th minute with a goal mouth scramble when the Dender keeper dropped the ball in front of two attackers running in after the ball, but the defence did well to clear. Dender should've scored shortly after but the attacker decided to shoot the ball straight at the keepers chest after bursting through into space. Since this point I've tried to find something to write but neither team helped. Ultimately this will be a game quickly forgotten about by all involved as it finished 0-0. I guess this was to be expected as going into the game both teams combined had scored 24 goals in 24 games.
Thankfully the weather was clear and the scenery nice (complete with trees and a church) to make up somewhat for the disappointment of the game, we were out of Kelmis shortly after the final whistle and got back fairly easily.
What struck me most was the contrast of this ground to other grounds in the 3rd division, even with current building work. At present 3 sides remain undeveloped. The side that is developed is fairly decent, built upon a slope. The current clubhouse is nice enough with good views over the pitch. The Bar is in the middle of this with signs like "haupt tribune" and "Nordkurve" being hung above each end. Currently being built on the end of this is what appears to be a new clubhouse/stand. The roof is going to overhang to provide covered seating. Currently the ground has no seating, with the only form of cover being over a small terrace. The interesting point about this ground is the players warm up on the 3G pitch next to the entrance, then go down some steps outside the clubhouse to the Changing rooms. The Tunnel then comes out under the Clubhouse. Because of this the second section of terrace is cut off so to access it and the press box you have to walk over the tunnel.
The game started rather drab with barely a shot on target mustered between the two teams. This was to be surprised with Phil saying his visit to Dender was as close as he has been to giving up on football. The first decent chance of the game finally came in the 28th minute, a volley dipped towards the la calamine goalie who didn't risk catching it so punched it out for a corner. Seconds later the home team had an even better chance with a volley from outside the area. The ball flying towards the top corner was saved acrobatically by the sender keeper, sending the ball round the post for a corner. That was it in terms of first half entertainment as the teams went in at 0-0.
The second half followed the same pattern in terms of excitement, but Sender clearly had the greater share of possession. There was some excitement in the 30th minute with a goal mouth scramble when the Dender keeper dropped the ball in front of two attackers running in after the ball, but the defence did well to clear. Dender should've scored shortly after but the attacker decided to shoot the ball straight at the keepers chest after bursting through into space. Since this point I've tried to find something to write but neither team helped. Ultimately this will be a game quickly forgotten about by all involved as it finished 0-0. I guess this was to be expected as going into the game both teams combined had scored 24 goals in 24 games.
Thankfully the weather was clear and the scenery nice (complete with trees and a church) to make up somewhat for the disappointment of the game, we were out of Kelmis shortly after the final whistle and got back fairly easily.