Matchday 24: FSV Frankfurt – FC Sankt Pauli 1-0…

Shit is also brown…

source: http://www.bild.de

…something proved beyond any reasonable doubt yesterday, while suffering by watching a HORRIBLE (and quite dangerous for the vision) FCSP trembling in the pitch, like they had consumed what WE (or at least, some of us 😀 ) had, becoming a more than welcome snack (smelling anything than shit) for the teeth of the local FSV, and losing (thankfully not much, we were lucky here) precious ground at the promotion race. Thankfully, the FCSP fan system is full of antibodies of the famous substance called “humour”. Othewise, there was a big possibility, todays match report to be written in Braille language…

Walk On You Boys In Brown but you better sometimes  taking a look where you stepping first 🙂

 

The Day Before – Disaster at Hoheluft, consolation at the Budapesterstraße Sporthalle

Drunk by Power (3/3 games for the Idiot up to this point) considered an excellent idea (it was actually!) to wake up a little earlier and take the way to Hoheluft Stadion for another dose of FCSP II vs some… Eintracht Norderstedt who managed (after being the better team throughout the entire game) to completely destroy us with 3 goals in 6 mins (79′-85′) and terminate emphatically my bloody winning streak 🙂 Aaaaahh whatever… A fine football Saturday morning, under a majestic Sun (something not obvious when in Hamburg), among good people (Hi Nord Support!) full of positive vibes and fun. Extra bonus: watching Thomas Meggle coaching in good mood – not only a true FCSP legend, not only a valuable member of the FCSP training/coaching squad but a guy with a very good sense of humour and a very good level of communication with the fans. Bitter defeat, sweet experience 😉

In case you really care, about what happened in the field, you can take a look at the official match report, here 😉

Squad Entrance

 

Some 1st half action

 

Two possible ways on the way back, H$V at the Jolly or a solidarity tournament for refugees taking place right opposite the street at Budapesterstraße 58 indoor hall already from 10am in the morning – picked up option 2. This was of course not only about playing indoor football but also about getting together sharing fun and food, gather some stuff useful for the immediate needs of the local refugee population (by the way, probably the only ones really relevant to football!). Reggae sounds from the speakers, some kind of football on the floor, smiling faces all around replacing the sun that couldn’t penetrate the walls, the only thing missing? A “smoking” section 😀

 

 

And of course, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to G.A.S. Sankt Pauli, celebrated during the evening at the Fanraüme (where else?) with lots of Punk music, lots of people, lot of joy and even a live gig that the Scum Idiot lost after arriving too late 🙂

Happy Birthday G.A.S.!

On the way – calm before the storm

After some come an go between Fanraüme and the Jolly (party for… Eintracht Frankfurt fans, they managed a good 1-1 vs H$V earlier – chatted with some of them, cool stuff!), 4 o’ clock and time to move – USP bus this time, flag, banner, misc supplies and booze loading done, ready to go! The end of the 6 hour trip, some spent in sleep, some in chatting and some just admiring the green vastness of the German territory found me in a completely different scenery comparing to the Dresden one, two weeks ago. Parked in the BIG parking space outside Volksbank Stadion, almost free of police escort (police of course present around but doing the smart thing to handle a “low risk” situation – no problems expected with the local fans) and free (!) to cross the road on our own (escorted by  4-5 policemen, doesn’t count) and visit the park on the opposite side of the road.

Mob is here!

Quality time at the park and some mixed feelings from the Scum correspondant, enjoying the extremely relaxing scenes on the one hand and considering (in blasphemy!) the total absence of green from his 6m city jungle on the other, not because there was never space but because nobody ever gave a shit to preserve and protect it, at least as long as it didn’t include Olympic funds… We have instead mayors who are cutting trees in the middle of the city to turn them into parking spaces escorted by special police to handle the local population like that sad pile of shite Nikitas Kaklamanis who (what a nerve) is attempting (thankfully, without any hope!) to reclaim the city in the next elections along and with a big absence of any serious alternative policy, pure result of our total insensitivity towards the bloody environment as Greek and Athenian citizens (who we are supposed to be). But civilization in my neighborhood, sadly is most about, asking the Parthenon marbles back from the British while polluting our cities ourselves without any kind of respect and burn the forests for land… HEY, HEY, HEEEYYY GREG, SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT!!!

No this ain’t Thessalia farming fields – it’s the CITY of Frankfurt

Enjoying nature 🙂

…and, of course, THE DUCKS!

Time passing, more and more FCSP people arriving, finally all together at the huge parking lot and slowly to Volksbank Stadion. Relatively tiny but VERY cool stadium with standing curves and sitting straights, with almost the entire perimeter dedicated to Bratwust/Bier kiosks. Greek weather football conditions this time, with the warm sun in a clear blue sky that I hate (?!?) so much having on my face while watching football, an emotion that I don’t think that a single person in the stadium shared with me, judging by the happy mood of people around in shorts, t-shirts and sunglasses mid-march in Germany – in fact, everybody, except the everlasting-moaning Greek, was really enjoying it, some of them using it as an excuse to further increase the already quite impressive beer consumption! All good, all roses with half an hour remaining for the game…

1 hour to kick-off

 

The game

Can we skip this? No, so let’s the fuck get over with it… The goal that decided the game was the first notable occasion in a first half with only half instead of two squads in the pitch – limited capability (at least, yesterday) FSV Frankfurt vs the FCSP corpse… 9′ into the game, organized FSV attack, ball to Leckie into the left edge of the box, who dribbled between 2-3 FCSP defenders, almost fell down but regained the ball due to ineffective defending before he tries the shot that wasn’t supposed to go inside but found it’s way, deflecting just as much as required to Florian Mohr’s (bad luck) left leg and finally hit our left post before it ends up inside…0-1, early shock for the Boys in Brown end everybody awaited for the FCSP reaction that didn’t happen. Bartels’ shot easily ending up in Klandt’s grasp (21′) could hardly count as a highlight and the same goes to his shot/cross attempt from the left, well in the box, that found nobody even close to get it on 25’… another quarter passed with FCSP unable to exchange more than 2-3 balls even without being hardly pressed until 40′ and a pretty good chance for… FSV with a Kapllani header, following an Epstein deep cross ending up just over Tschauner’s opposite corner – close… That was all…

Leckie for the winner (image source: http://www.bild.de)

2nd half was a slightly different story but don’t imagine anything dramatic here. FCSP got the initiative but inspiration was out of scope – just some shots to begin with, something good since during the 1st half this term was missing from the FCSP vocabulary. Like a Maier attempt (48′ ) and another one from Gregoritsch (58′), both of them “fresh blood” in the game, but neither of them being a chance – close shots but with FSV keeper Klandt always in control. An interesting occasion in between (51′) with Klandt, missing a return pass, catching up the ball just in line by his posts and then (succesfully) dribbling incoming Bartels! The little arrogant bastard should be punished big time for this but he got away just fine – Ack! Entering the final 30′ of the game, things started changing a little more, with FCSP having intensified the efforts and FSV reacting like a no team, trying more to earn time by pretending injuries than using football to do it… First really organized quick attack for FCSP on 63′ but Gregoritsch’s shot (final receiver of the ball), after trying unsuccesfully to get ride of the 2 FSV defenders guarding him, ended straight in Klandt’s grasp. A good opportunity that never happened on 67′ with Gregoritsch, being (incorrectly) stopped by the assistant referee right in front of Klandt and an opportunity for FSV to end the match with a Kapllani free header (YES, FOLLOWING A CORNER – noticed people yesterday that just COULDN’T watch opponent corners and they were turning their backs to the pitch!), stopped right before the goal line by a Trybull header, gave the match a little more intensity while moving towards it closing stages. Unfortunately (we already told) FCSP was absent from the pitch yesterday and things became even worse on 84′, with Trybull being sent off on 84′ with a second yellow card… not the best present for his birthday (turned 21 yesterday – HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!) but not the best afternoon for any of us I suppose… However, football is football and nothing’s over until it’s over… First, a huge opportunity lost for them with Leckie, being beaten face-to-face by Tschauner this time (89′) and… ALMOST THE EQUALIZER FOR FCSP (93′) with Klandt, first saving a fine Verhoek U-turn and shot attempt, almost from the penalty spot, and then getting to the ball, just before the goal line, one step before Gregoritsch! We didn’t deserve it, it didn’t happen, game over…

The 93′ incident (image source: http://www.fsv-frankfurt.de)

This was certainly less that expected and deserved by the FCSP fans who managed to fill, coming from all possible places (AGAIN!), almost 30% of the (not so big after all 🙂 ) Volksbank Stadion and waited after the bitter end (as expected, of course), to applause the Boys in Brown… FCSP of the 1st half was simply a football tragedy, FCSP overall was just bullshit. That’s life, that’s football, the sooner we forget about it, the better except the squad maybe since there’s a small lesson here: sooner or later you ‘ll harvest what you ‘ve planted – we got away with it vs Union, yesterday was payback time…

Chin up boys and girls, after all and despite our almost comic ups and downs, thanks of course to the equivalent courses of our suicidal promotion rivals, everything is still open. For reasons that probably don’t beat modern mathematics but for sure beat me, we ‘re still just 1 (ONE!) pt below the promotion playoff place and a good result next week in Düsseldorf vs Fortuna, could be a big push, towards an (unexpected one way or another) triumphant course to Bundesliga! After all, as Damian Chapa stated playing Miklo in “Bound by Honour” 1993 gangsta-soap-epic-classic…

It’s okay, carnal.
When you expect nothing and you
get everything, that’s destiny.

C’MON FCSP!!!!!!!!!!

Match goals:

1:0 Leckie (9′, right-footed shot, Assist: M. Görlitz)

Spectators: 11103

Sankt Pauli cards: Rzatkowski (5, misses next), Thorandt (5, misses next), Trybull (1+1=1, misses next for sure!)

For full match coverage (in German) visit: http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/2bundesliga/spieltag/2-bundesliga/2013-14/24/1894776/spielbericht_fsv-frankfurt-1295_fc-st-pauli-18.html

Squad entrance

 

The Boys in Brown getting applaused by the traveling fan force

 

On the way home

A long way back, not the best mood for anybody but still FCSP fans on tour! Lots and various talk about FCSP, the neighborhood, common friends, future plans, pleasant surprises like the big cans of food that were waiting in the bus and got unloaded for anybody hungry, the money that were collected for the guys that came without being able to afford the trip or some money for the driver towards the end, of course lots of beer and a few more goodies (with smoking “allowed” in this bus 😀 ), everything the way it should be, with the exception maybe of the horrible techno soundtrack playing for more than half of the trip 🙂

Finally, back to the Jolly around 11:45. Plan was to just say goodbye and leave (so screwed up), stayed instead for one whisky that became 3-4. A different place on Sunday night, more quiet but having it’s own magic, with a few but good people having a good time and enjoying with class a football defeat 🙂 After some 2 hrs, I finally left the place, tired like I have never been these 20 days here so far but having an overall feeling, a little calmer but almost identical to the one (sooo sweet) I had same day and time after Dresden, some 2 weeks ago. I guess, that’s one of the things that following FCSP is about, not win or loose but just enjoy football and friends instead but I guess this is not news either 🙂

That’s about it – next (and last for this month) Scum station Düsseldorf, where I’m expecting to collect the Scum tour goodbye present – see (some of) you there!