Tuesday, October 04, 2022

Eintracht Frankfurt U19

Eintracht Frankfurt U19 1 Tottenham Hotspur U19 0 - UEFA Youth league, Group Stage




Frankfurt is located on both sides of the river Main, south-east of the Taunus mountain range. The southern part of the city contains the Frankfurt City Forest, Germany’s largest city forest. Frankfurt hosts the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock exchange and several large commercial banks. The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the world’s largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover of the German market. The city is divided into 46 districts, which in turn are dived into 121 city boroughs and 448 electoral districts.



Dreieich is a town in the Offenbach district in Hessen. The town is part of the Frankfurt Rhein-Main urban area and is located 6 miles south of Frankfurt. With a population of more than 40,000 it is the district’s second largest town. The town’s name comes from a royal hunting forest, first reference in the 9th century.



The primary reason for this excursion (thanks for driving Kevin) to Germany was to watch Eintracht Frankfurt v Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champion League. Although the venue for that match (Waldstadion) is covered elsewhere on Pie and Mushy Peas following my visit in 1982, the parallel competition (UEFA Youth League) provided an opportunity to visit a new ground. Sportpark Dreieich is a purpose built ground for Eintracht Frankfurt II.



On arrival at Dreieich station I was prepared for a half an hour walk to the ground, but Ciderman and I were fortunate to be able to take advantage of a very conveniently timed shuttle bus, waiting at the station. We were the only passengers and could not help marvelling at the German efficiency in providing this complimentary service. We also negotiated with the driver our return journey. 



The 3500 capacity stadium boasts two covered seated stands. These are situated along the sides of the pitch. There was also an impressive corporate hospitality area located at the back of the stand where we were sitting. An unused section of raised terracing is located behind one of the goals. Also at this end of the ground are the changing facilities and the media lounge. The opposite end of the ground has no spectator facilities.  Additional refreshment facilities for spectators are situated near the entrance to the venue and it will have been here that Peter Lee purchased his hot dog.



The match was a closely contested affair with the young Spurs side giving a decent account of themselves without creating too many chances. Ferri Julia’s headed goal gave the hosts the lead on 25 minutes. Some poor officiating denied the visitors the chance to level on 35 minutes when Jamie Donley was clearly tripped in the box. I saw it and told the referee Milos Gigovic as much!



This was a far better performance by Spurs than the previous match in Lisbon and they did finish strongly. It will be interesting to see the reverse of this fixture at Hotspur Way. Our shuttle bus was waiting for us at the end of the match and on this occasion we shared the journey with some Eintracht Frankfurt staff, before catching the train back to the centre where the Curry Wurst and beer were waiting!







Attendance: 1051
Admission: 10 Euros
Programme: Not issued
Team Sheet: Free 








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