Monday, February 27, 2012

BV Cloppenburg 6 VfL Bückeburg 0


















Football again at last! And today it was off to Cloppenburg. Having done my research before the game, I knew that Cloppenburg was famous for....erm......nothing! Oh....some model lives there. That's about it really

Going into the game, Cloppenburg were in 2nd place in the league, and our two recognised strikers, Bremer and Fritsche were injured. It didn't bode well.

On the way to Cloppenburg, I drove across country, taking in a couple of non-league grounds along the way. Indeed, one of them was so picturesque I stopped for longer than I should. In a woodland copse, the sun beating down, the sounds of birds singing, a woodpecker hammering at the tree, and distant toll of a church bell, I closed my eyes and was suddenly in a Rupert Brooke poem.
I arrived at just after 12 in Cloppenburg. The team bus actually beat me by about 10 minutes, despite me leaving 30 minutes earlier. 


I was at the Time Parter Arena. Er....yeah, not exactly an arena is it Cloppenburg? 


The ground is basically a cage, with a pitch in the middle. Every twist and turn you find yourself banging into a piece of metal. I was expecting Richard O' Brien to appear any minute to lead me off into some darkened room.
Where are you Richard?

I bought a ticket for the seats, which was quite pleasant, but all too sterile for my liking. There was even a VIP lounge, where the lucky ones had to show a wrist band to get in!
A warm welcome
And now ladies and gentleman, allow me to morph into Victor Meldrew for a minute and have a good old whine.
"I don't believe it"
If you see that you have to get past someone, so that person has to stand up, at least say thank you. If you see that this person has to do it everytime that your snotty kid goes past, at an average of once every 3 minutes, do something about it. If you see that your child is kicking the back of the seats, so that EVERYONE is turning around and tutting, DEAL WITH IT! In the name of all things holy, get some parenting skills. Rant over!
Health and Safety issue here
We were always on a hiding to nothing, with an emergency first 11 out there, but battled superbly all over the pitch, and found ourselves 0-2 down at half time. 

For the second half, I decided to stand behind the goal, the sun was out, and I couldn't stand the tits in the seats around me.

Where I stood for the second half
We conceded another 4 goals, so lost 0-6. But I was far from upset. The team battled until the final whistle, really worked for each other. We can not get relegated due to the bankrupty of Nordhorn and Emden, but I still think even without their points deduction we could survive this league.

Just a note on the clown that writes the reports for the local paper. Go back to journalism school. He/She quoted the attendance of being "nearly 700". It wasnt! It was 594, so not even 600. Also, the second BVC goal came from an attack down our right flank, not the left. The ground is not called the "Cloppenburg Stadion".

On Saturday, Romford lost 2-3 away at league leader Leiston. Found ourselves 0-3 down at half time, but two goals from Kurt Smith nearly snatched a draw.
Kurt Smith, 2 goals for Boro
The Raiders lost 2-3 in Cardiff, we only need to win another 6 games for the league title, but have had a bit of a slump of late! David Oliver was man of the match in the Welsh capital.
David Oliver, man of the match
In Bury, Orient gained a 1-1, with new skipper Matt Spring scoring for the O's!
New skipper, Matt Spring
Finally, a big congratulations to Romford skipper, and all time appearance holder, Paul Clayton on the birth of his daughter.

 RATINGS

Friendliness:     - 6/10
Clubhouse:        - There was one, but it was away from the ground
Seats:            - 1080 in the main stand. Overall capacity is 5001
Behind goals:     - Terracing behind both, one is for away fans
Cover:            - Main stand only
Floodlights:      - Yes
Barrier:          - Metal cage
Beer:             - Krombacher €2 (not sampled)
Bratwurst:        - €2 1/10 (Cold, wobbly, and only mustard as a  condiment option 
Entrance fee:     - €10 seats, €6 standing
Programme:        - Sort of! A brochure of the whole sport club
Weather:          - 7/10
Ground:           - 6/10
Home fans:        - 4/10