KVC Sint-Eloois Winkel Sport – KFC Dessel Sport (20-02-2022)

 

It was good that we arrived more than an hour before kick-off to town, as it took us almost 30 minutes to find the stadium. The address online was more than 10 km from where the real Sportpark Terschueren is. Our last game of the weekend is again in the Eerste Klasse, the third division of Belgian soccer. We visit the KVC Sint-Eloois Winkel Sport, which was founded in 1940, during the Second World War, and has mainly made some promotions within the amateur divisions because of the many bankruptcies of Belgian soccer clubs.

 

After killing time to escape the still relentless rain and wind, we arrive 2 minutes before kick-off, park straight in front of the ground on a tiny parking lot that is nevertheless only one-third occupied. As we approach the small ticket booth, the guy starts to wave his hands and tells us enthusiastically that face masks are no longer necessary. He is also the first one this weekend not to check our vaccine status. We keep our masks on, completely confusing the man, and pay €10 ($11) for a generic ticket.

 

The stadium, if you will, has an Astroturf pitch and two small stands. We sit on the main stand, which is covered and has six rows of seats. On the other long side of the pitch is a small standing-only stand, also covered, with only 18 people on it. There are between 150 and 200 people in the stadium, including a sizeable section from Dessel, who are top of the league. The supporters are again older, white men from around town (which explains the lack of cars on the little parking lot).

 

In the 11^th minute there is an awful misunderstanding between a defender and the goalie of Winkel Sport, after having received a free kick some 25 meter from their own goal. The defender kicks the ball softly to his goalie, who thinks he is going to take the free kick himself, as a Dessel striker gets in between them, picks up the ball, goes around the goalie, who protests and motions that he is to take the free kick, and shoots from 20 meter in the goal: 0-1. The group of some 35-50 loud (and drunk) away supporters jumps up to celebrate.

 

Dessel remains better but by and large stops playing. Still, they do get some chances, often through breaks after poor defending by the hosts. In the 30^th minute, after a foul, a hard, low shot from 20 meter is saved by the home goalie, first with his hands and then the rebound from 5 meter with his leg. After that, Winkel Sport gets several chances. The most notable, in the 42^nd minutes, sees a beautiful action by the striker, who cuts free in the box and shoots hard in the short corner from 5 meter, but it ricochets off the post. In extra time, Dessel attacks and a saved header is rebounded with a beautiful half volley from 16 meter, but lands on top of the crossbar. Half time: 0-1.

 

Although Dessel has the much better team and cannot afford to lose any points at low-placed Winkel Sport, they seem uninterested in making the lead bigger. You see the confidence of the hosts grow, as they create a few chances. In the 55^th minute a Winkel-Sport break leads to a foul in the box. The penalty is scored and it is 1-1.

 

At the end of the game Winkel Sport becomes stronger and stronger. In the 85^th minute they have an excellent break, with a great through pass, a strong cross back, and a volley from 5 meter that is saved by the goalie. Unfortunately, three minutes later a player gets his second yellow and has to leave the pitch. It is only now, a few minutes before the final whistle, that Dessel starts to really pressure. But it won’t help them. They lose two points, as it ends 1-1, which is quite sour for Winkel Sport, who deserved more, particularly given the unfortunate goal they got against them.

 

 

KVC Sint-Eloois Winkel Sport is really just a small amateur team. Although they play in the third division of Belgian football, they have never played professional, unlike many other teams in that league (like Dessel). Not the most exciting groundhop destination.

KVV THES Sport Tessenderlo - FC Mandel United (19-02-2022)

The drive from Wegberg to Tesssenderlo is so short that even with an excellent pig out stop in Geel, we arrive to the town far too early. As it is cold and rainy, Belgium and the Netherlands are punished by a crazy storm (which would create major damage, particularly at the West coast), but we find shelter in a canteen opposite to the stadium, where we can also park. We are visiting the KVV THES Sport Tessenderlo, a team in the Eerste Nationale (First National Amateur Division), the third tier of Belgian football. Unsurprisingly, this is another fusion club, with THES standing for Tessenderlo, Hulst, Engsbergen and Schoot.

 

Two minutes before kick-off we cross the street to the stadium and pay €12 ($13) for a generic ticket. The stadium at the Gemeentelijk Sportpark (Community Sports Park) Tessenderlo has only one stand, on one long side, but it is quite big, giving the ground a more real football experience. The pitch is Astroturf.

 

There are some 250 to 300 people in the stadium, almost all sitting on one half of the main stand. The fans are local, almost all men (40+), and again very few women and children. As far as I can see, there are no away fans. KVV THES Sport Tessenderlo is somewhere mid-table, while FC Mandel United is bottom of the table.

 

The game is played under atrocious conditions. It rains almost the whole game but the real problem is the extreme wind, which is not just cold, but makes particularly passes high passes problematic. In the 13^th minute the guests have their first good attack, but the striker heads the ball wide. Two minutes later a too long THES free kick goes from right to left, the cross is missed by the goalie but the rebound is missed. A minute later, the hosts have a counter, the player goes around the goalie, but shoots hard wide.

 

In the 20^th minute a long ball is missed by a defender and a THES striker goes alone at the goalie, followed closely by three defenders, and scores cool: 1-0. Two minutes later, the hosts head a free kick at the goalie from close by. Ten minutes later they have a fantastic counter, with a brilliant cross in the run, and the striker totally misses the ball. Criminal! Three minutes before half time, the guests, who escaped several time, score in an unexpected move. 1-1 is the half time score.

 

After a classic Belgium stadium snack, a bit too crispy Mexicano Sandwich with Samourai sauce, it is time for the second half. The weather remains horrible. In the 57^th minute a THES cross is poorly boxed away by the Mandel United goalie, fantastically volleyed in the rebound, and even more spectacularly saved by that same goalie. Two minutes later a beautifully executed attack by the hosts is missed from 7 meter by a striker who shoots hard but wide.

 

The longer the game continues, the poorer the hosts play. In the 63^rd minute Mandel has an enormous chance, after a counter, but striker, who goes alone at the goalie, shoots wide. Although THES has been much better, and should have won this game easily, Mandel seems to win it in the last minute of extra time, when the ball is pumped into the THES box, and after a header a group of players jump and one heads it in from about 3 meter… 1-2. No, as the goal is disallowed because the goalie is attacked in his protective space.

 

So the game ends in a 1-1 draw, which is almost lucky in the end for THES, which should have easily have won this game against the bottom team of the league. They created enough chances, despite strong rain and wind, but failed to finish. 

 

Overall, not a good game, but many very good chances made it entertaining. And while there are few supporters, and there is not too much atmosphere, the big stand gives it a real football feel.

KFC Dessel Sport – ASV Geel (10-03-2018)

 

In the end we didn’t have to leave Sportfreunde Lotte – SC Fortuna Köln early, as we make the roughly 275 km southwest easily, arriving in Dessel early, giving us time to eat at the excellent Frituur Den Brink and still arrive several minutes before kick-off.

 

The Armand Melis Stadium is relatively new, built in 2009, and can hold 4,284 people. I doubt there were ever more than 1,500 there though. It is home to the KFC Dessel Sport, founded in 1926, and a mainstay in the lower divisions of Belgian football. Today they play in the Tweede Klasse Amateurs (literally “Second Division Amateurs”), which, after the latest reform in Belgian football, is really the fourth division.

 

We buy a ticket for the smaller long stand for €15, which is not cheap for the fourth division in Belgium. There are some 600 people, including ca. 60 people from Geel, which is 15 km away. The fan are local and older; the whitest audience ever. Only some 15 kids are singing.

  

The game starts slow and uneventful. In the 14^th minute Dessel has its first good attack, but the striker can’t connect to the hard cross. Two minutes later Geel has an amazing volley from 30 meters, which goes just wide. Overall the play goes back and forth, but the passing is pretty poor.

 

In the 26^th minute the hosts have a good attack, but the shot goes wide. Four minutes later the visitors force the goalie to a good safe before a deflected ball is headed off the goal line. Dessel Sport has most of the game and several good attacks. And then, two minutes before the break, Dessel has a good fast attack, pass in the box, which is finished cool: 1-0. Half-time.

 

The second half starts explosive. A Dessel player goes away from the goal, but is fouled in the box: penalty. It is shot hard in the center, but goes is: 2-0.

 

In the 52^nd minute the hosts have a surprise shot from 25 meters that goes just over. Seven minutes later the visitors have a huge chance, but he passes to no one, rather than shoots at goal. In the 62^nd minute Dessel has a good attack, plays a double pass, gets into the box, passes the ball out, and from the edge of the box a shot is deflected and goes in: 3-0.

 

Just minutes later Geel attacks, plays the ball into the box, behind everyone, and someone slides it into the goal: 3-1. It’s going fast now. Both teams have a few chances, but 3-1 will be the final score.

Dessel Sport is a classic lower level Belgian football experience. Small venue, small crowd, mostly local and friendly.

UR La Louvière Centre – Waremme (03-09-2016)

 

We actually made good time from Paris to La Louvière and have enough time to eat at the fantastic friterie Cook ‘n Frites. However, we enjoy the fries a bit too long and in the end arrive a bit late at the stadium…. Moreover, at the wrong stadium! After some crisis management we finally get to the right stadium some 15 minutes late.

 

UR La Louvière Centre (URLC) was known as Union Royale Sportive du Centre or URS Centre until 2011, when it changed its name, in part because “big brother” R.A.A. Louviéroise (RAAL) had gone bankrupt in 2009 and URS Centre could now become the big club of the town. It also moved to the Stade du Tivoli, the communal stadium of 13,500 that had been RAAL’s home ground. Since the fundamental restructuring of the Belgian football leagues URLC plays in the newly created Division 2 Amateurs (Second Division Amateurs), which is the fifth or sixth division in Belgium (it was impossible for me to exactly track the new system). Today is the season opener, which is quite late, as the top flights in most countries have already played multiple rounds.

 

We get tickets for €10 each and get into the stadium, where we first have to have a whole discussion to get my camera bag into the ground. When we finally sit down 20 minutes have been played but it is still 0-0 (not necessarily a good sign).

There are ca. 500 people, virtually all white, mostly men, and many very old (well beyond 65). On the opposite side of the main stand are the “ultras”, namely the Green Boys and the Wolf Side, both roughly 25 men, who sing for much of the game.

 

We can’t really find any supporters of Royal Stade Waremmien Football Club (or RSWFC), a team from a town that has barely more people than fit in the stadium, which is just an hour from La Louvière (ca. 100 km).

 

In the 22^nd minute a LL striker oes alone at the goalie, no one with him, but the shot is saved. Three minutes later the guests have a similar chance, but the shot hits the knee of the goalie, before it is saved from the line by a defender. Ten minutes later RSWFC again has a chance, but this time the goalie saves spectacularly with his right hand and then deflects the rebound from just 2 meter. Great saves!

 

In the 35^th minute the hosts counter with two on the left and one in the center. One of the two shoots, the goalie saves, the other puts the rebound in front of the goal, where the third one finishes easily: 1-0. Maximal production!

 

The reason that there are few chances has to do with the typical Belgian approach to football, where the majority of players are always kept behind the ball. Both teams hold 6-7 players at all time behind the ball, even when they “attack.” Hence, 1-0 was also the half time score.

 

The second half started as slow as the first half had ended until in the 50^th minute LL shoots from 30 meter, straight at the goalkeeper, who completely misses the bounce just in front of him, and it goes in: 2-0. One of the most unbelievable mistakes I have ever seen in a game.

 

The guests take it hard, whereas the hosts become a different team. In the 55^th minute they get a free kick at about 20 meter, which is shot hard around the wall and inside the far corner. A good kick but the goalie should have had it. 3-0 nevertheless.

 

In the 63^rd minute the guests finally get a chance to do something back. A dumb foul in the box leads to a penalty but the excellent goalie stops it – and the penalty kick was actually quite good. The guests try it a few more times with some attacks but can’t score. In the 76^th minute the hosts punish them for it. After a corner kick three players are free in front of the goal, one heads it in: 4-0.

 

This is also the final score. An amazing start to the season which also took the fans by surprise.

Despite the relatively poor quality, which can be expected at this level, URLC is a nice club to visit. It has a small but very loyal support, who must relish in the fact that they are finally the top team in town.