A long weekend starting near Hannover, then travelling via Munster and Almelo to Brussels.
19th April Goslarer 1 Meppen 1 German Regionalliga Nord 440 (40 away)
Goslar is a pleasant town about an hour away from Hannover.
Their ground is fairly small with a section of terrace for the away fans, some unused other areas and a cosy main stand providing a mix of seats and standing areas.
You can stand near the bratwurst grill if it gets a bit cold.
In the game the home side scored early from a corner and it became an even first period.
But Meppen got closer in the second half mainly with some headers and they probably deserved their equaliser despite it coming from a snap shot in the final minutes.
I strolled back to the centre, indulged in a weissbier then took the train back to Hannover.
20th April Preussen Munster 2 Karlsruhe 1 3.Liga 14,465 (1200 away)
Both these teams are challenging for promotion so there was a large crowd turning out on a sunny but breezy Saturday afternoon. The home sections, especially the terraces, were packed and the visitors also brought a good sized following.
The match started at a very fast pace and Munster profited when American striker Matthew Taylor was put through on seven minutes.
He would capitalise from a defensive error in the second half to seal the win.
Karlsruhe took some time to create chances and it was only after the appearance of substitute Gaetan Krebs, who glanced in a header with fifteen minutes left, that they got extra momentum.
But with a combination of stoppages and delays the home side held on for a valuable victory.
20th April Heracles 4 RKC 0 Dutch Premier 8,468 (50 away)
It was eminently feasible, using public transport, to travel from Munster to Almelo for this evening game without too many problems.
Heracles are trying to move to a larger stadium as they have a large number of season ticket holders who fill most of their current 8,500 capacity ground.
As they are having difficulties with the new site development perhaps they could consider adding an extra level or two to the existing structure ?
Which comprises a typical four, smallish sides.
The away section ‘wedge’ was plenty big enough for the RKC fans and the home ultras did their thing behind the left hand goal.
Though tight in the first half the game became a very comfortable win for the home side.
They went ahead on 41 minutes when the tricky Paljic burst through and was brought down.
Quansah scored easily from the spot.
Vejinovic added a second after good work down the right and the Brazilian Everton added two more including a great right foot strike into the top of the net.
By the end RKC were well beaten and they are in danger of relegation.
21st April White Star Woluwe 3 Eupen 2 Belgian 2nd Division 400 (80 away)
Almelo to Brussels takes a while - in my case the route was Deventer, Roosendaal, Antwerp and then the Belgian capital - over six hours passed all told.
And after having a train cancelled I also endured the dreaded ‘bus replacement’ service for part of the Brussels metro journey to get to Woluwe.
The stade Fallon is somewhat quirky with its blue coloured athletics track and two covered ‘semi-temporary’ stands along one side - the Eupen fans being in one section.
Both ends are empty, apart from a scoreboard and the inevitable adverts.
Thankfully the weather was mild and the game was a good watch.
Eupen, packed with African players, pushed forward from the start and both sides provided an open encounter.
White Star scored from their first attack after a Jeremy Serwy left footer eluded the away goalie.
They added a second on 21 minutes despite Eupen having more possession.
Japanese sub. Ibusuki converted a penalty to make it 2-1 and he did enhance the visitors’ forward line in combination with the tall Kabasele.
But Serwy popped up to head in a third from a left wing cross and although Lallemand also headed in soon after the home side did enough for the win.
I took the metro, bus and then train to Brussels airport for the Sunday evening flight back to the UK.
more pictures at http://www.photobox.co.uk/album/1858342805
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