(Ground number 287)
Date of First Visit: (Friday!) 13th July
2012
Gellert Stadium, Chemnitz, east Germany
Chemnitzer 1
(Anton ‘FINK’!)
Newcastle United
0
Friendly fixture
Attendance: 6,700 (estimated 200 Toon fans)
“IT’S NOT FRIDAY THE THORTEENTH---IZ IT???”
Because we booked this one so late (two days before
departure) we ended up flyin’ from Glasgow to Berlin az aall the flights from
‘Toon Airport’ to Prague (the nearest airport to Chemnitz) were full!
It meant a two and a half hour drive up to Jockoland
in the orly hours and ‘Big Al’ (NOT the sheet metal workers son!) took hiz
jamjar which we parked in the lang stay carpark at the airport for the rip-off
sum of £35 for 3 days!
The flight waz on time and we arrived in Berlin some
two hours later.
A half hour ride later on the train to central
Berlin meant that we had a little time for a few gargles before catchin’ anotha
train to Dresden some two hours more doon the line.
The problem waz!—we couldn’t find any drinkin dens
aroond the station area and in any case it waz p*ssin doon with rain! It meant a desperate sorch aroond the huge
station for at least somewhere where they had ‘hootch’!
Eventually we foond a food outlet which selt bottles
of Jawman beer and so we settled doon for a couple before wor next leg of the
jorney.
Wor peace waz shattered when a text message from
‘Mal the Skoool Teacher who telt us from back home that the clubs official site
had just annoonced another game in Hungary for the followin’ weekend!
Anyway!---it waz time to get the choo choo train to
Dresden and off we set off for southern Jawmany.
On arrival we were greeted by torrential rain, but
‘Big Al’ reckoned the hotel wasn’t too far awy and he had a Google map to find
it.
After waalkin’ aimlessly aroond in circles for half
an hour getting’ a complete drenchin’ we eventually foond wor digs on the side
of a duel carriageway and we dumped wor bags and dried worsels off before
venturin’ oot into the downpour once again! (for some much needed ‘gargel’ yoo
understand!)
‘The Caped Crusader’ had torned up by this time
(He’d been there since the day before!) and we heeded for the delights of
Dresden city centre which had several buildins of architectural interest (if
yih interested in that kind of thing!) but NOT many ‘drinkin dens’ that we
could find!
We DID find some and after dodgin’ the rain showers
we heeded back to the hotel for some much needed ‘dryin off’!
Next day it waz off to Dresden station for the one
hour train ride to Chemnitz, but az we had loads of time to kill, we ended up
watchin’ a toy train gan roond a model village on a glass domed table in the
station concourse, before we heeded there, az there waz nowt open for some
‘tonsil ticklin’!
We were that bored in fact, that we even noticed
that the bald gadgie made of plastic on the roof of a model hoose on the table,
waz layin’ some roof tiles! (half an hour later and he he waz still in the same
position!) (see main photo!)
“NOT GUILTY AZ CHARGED!”
A healthy lookin’ crowd, estimated by us at aroond
the six thousand mark were boosted by aboot another 150 Toon fans in the
visitors section opposite us and another 50 or so in the main stand includin’
many of the ‘NUFC mad-sad groundhoppers’
There’d been heavy rain since we’d got there but it
had faired up an hour before the kick off.
Things didn’t start off well and Chemnitzer’s centre
forward who waz called ‘FINK’! (believe it or not!?) did the ‘unthinkable’ and
scored against us in the 12th minute when he rifled in a fine effort
past Elliot in The Toon goal! (H-E-L-P-!)
Glennn from Ashington, who waz sittin’ next to me,
said in a raised voice: “SHAME ON YOU!” az he shook hiz head in
disgust!---BUT!---“I WAZ NOT GUILY M’LORD!” az I was sittin’ in ‘row 2’ of the
main stand---MILES! From the action! (so divvint blame ME!----blame mee
‘namesake’!)
New signin’ Romain Amalfitano made hiz debut for The
Toon who sported a slightly different black ‘n’ white kit from last season and
wor otha debutant Geal Bigirimana<(why can’t they have simple names to spell
like ‘Jow Blogggz’?) came on az a sub at the mid point of the 2nd
half.
Anyway!---it waz a very forgettable game (apart from
‘yee naa wot’!) and despite SIX 2nd half substitutions, includin’
new boy ‘Bigi’ <(az he had now been renamed!), Shola Ameobi and Demba Ba, we
couldn’t find a way through the Thord Division Jawman sides defence and we
wandered off after the final whistle, havin’ lost to a ‘FINK’ goal,and
wonderin’ just why we bothered!? (Aa’ll
NEVA live it doon!)<(they won’t let me forget who scored the winnin goal!---will
they?)
Aa was then ‘bombarded’ by HATE text messages
(whey!---a couple, anyway!) by irate Toon fans back home, demandin’
explanations! (HELP!)
It’s not ‘Friday the 13th’!---IZ IT!???
