As I was flying home at 21.45, I would check out of the hotel after breakfast and go straight from the football at the end of the day to the airport.
The four of us staying in the same hotel, had breakfast before heading off firstly in the wrong direction before one of the party decided we really should take a taxi as the walk looked quite far....how right he was...it was miles! After a 15 minute cab ride and a short walk we rocked up to meet the rest of the team outside Altona's ground.
We were met by 2 of Altona's fans Jan and Peter. It was Jan that had worked hard to get this match on after he's chance meeting with our supporters team manager Mishi a year earlier when he had been at an Altona home game and was wandering around their ground taking snaps. The game was to be played on the main pitch at the ground and we would be playing from the 2 penalty boxes upwards but using the full width, a large ask when on having 7 players a side.
Altona have a lovely old ground with a large wooden stand with seats running the length of one side of the pitch and a bank of terracing behind each goal. On the opposite side behind the dugouts was another small teach covered with grass. As we sat in the dressing room putting our kits on ready for the 10.30am I reminded everyone that this was my 300th ground and after thinking for some time where I should take my 300th ground in this was going to turnout to be the perfect venue.
Just like the day before the weather was glorious but not exactly the hot weather you wanted while running around a football pitch after a day and 2 nights of excess...oh well, when in Rome. Our hosts were already out on the pitch and getting well warmed up with most of their players drinking beer, I just couldn't bring myself to have one at this time.
The game started and it became clear who was the more prepared and it wasn't us as our hosts sailed into a 2 goal lead while we struggled to contain their pace and we were found just lacking all round. We started to get back into the game but then one of our team turned he's knee in a nothing challenge and he hobbled off not to appear again...as we regained control of the game with a few good passages of play we let 2 more silly goals in before finally pulling one back...we then went on to grab another goal before half time with yours truly stooping low (not quite a diving header) to head into the bottom corner of the net...our hosts then scored twice more to leave the half the halftime score 6-2.
By now the sun was hotter than ever and though it was glorious it was blinking hot to play football in. Our host from yesterday George had brought he's decks along and was blasting out northern soul as we sat and gathered our composure ready for another 30 minutes. We started pretty much as we had played during the middle part of the first half and were really getting back into it when we shipped 2 more goals to go 8-2 down, this was looking like a cricket score. We broke down the right and after the ball as flicked in I stuck out my left boot to guide the ball into the net. Now the momentum was with us and after a tussle in the box were rewarded a penalty. Even though i was on a hat-trick, one of our more experienced campaigners took the kick only for history to repeat itself and England missed from the penalty spot against the Germans, who then went down the other end and scored their ninth goal.
From the kick off I received a great through pass through the middle and dispatched the ball into the bottom corner to claim my hat-trick, my first tour, my first goals and I was now on fire. Goals 4 and 5 quickly followed before I took myself off as I was shattered. A few minutes later after we had grabbed 2 more goals the game ended with the score a much more respectable 13-8 to the Germans.
As the game ended the hosts brought 2 crates of German beer over for all of us to share and the brewery was started in 1893 a fitting drink to toast our cracking game of football with.
A quick change and shower later and it was back outside for more beer, talking, soaking up the sun and the lovely bratwurst and currywurst that was being cooked up on the bar b q. Around 1.15pm we all made our way out of the ground and off to watch the Altona first team play in a pre season friendly. Around 30 of us made our way on 2 buses the near 9 kilometres from Altona's ground to the ground of Eintract Lokstedt. This was to be ground number 301 for me and the 3rd of a so far enjoyable weekend.
A basic pitch with a rail around it and a bank of grass acting as terracing on 1 side & the rather bizarre sight of a large artificial climbing wall greeted us on our arrival just as the 2 teams entered the pitch.
I learnt that the home side were a league or 2 below that of Altona 93 and the way the game started it certainly suggested there was only going to be 1 winner today. All of us parked ourselves on the local grass banking and started to dismantle several crates of beer. So much so that at the end of the 90 minutes it was unclear whether the game ended 6-0 or 7-0 to Altona as everyone seemed to lose count a bit and no-one could decide the correct score! Within 10 minutes of the end of the game another match started which seemed to be the Eintract Lokstedt reserves against a local Iranian team. We started to watch this game but the combination of a poor first half and all of the beer running out (probably because we had drank it all) we decided to move onto a local bar.
Next to the Hagenbecks Tierpark U bahn station is a Turkish take-away restaurant that also has a large seating area / patio which we gladly took over and spent many a € on their finest cans of beer chips and kebabs. My flight was at 9.45pm so as 7.30pm approached it was time for me to say my goodbyes to all of the cracking fellas from Altona that had really made us welcome and had helped ensured the day had been a huge success. Friendships have been made and with the promise of a squad of them coming over to Dulwich for a return game in 2013 ringing in my ears I boarded the bus for the airport.
The bus took just under 30 minutes and the flight was on time, even landing at Gatwick half and hour early...then the fun started. I got a fast train to East Croydon to find there were no onward trains to Honor Oak Park, I then boarded a train to Norwood Junction in the hope that an Honor Oak Park bound train would be coming through from West Croydon how wrong I was. A 10 minute wait followed by a train to Crystal Palace, a 5 minute walk up the hill then after another 10 minute wait the 122 bus appeared just before midnight that had me home for just after 12.15am! A long testing journey home but this could not put the gloss on a smashing weekend in Hamburg.
With Germany being such hot bed for all things football related I will definitely being going back for another trip in the not too distant future.
Til the next time
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