Luxembourg National Division
Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange
Admission: €10.00
Programme or Teamsheet: None
Attendance: 525
Match Rating: 3
With a full fixture list in Luxembourg this afternoon, I could have taken in a double, with most games kicking off at 4pm and the remaining three at 6. But that would have meant missing at least the first quarter of an hour in the second game, and having selected this as the ground I particularly wanted to visit, with it being one of the better grounds in Luxembourg and to watch a team who, quite astonishingly for a Luxembourg club, are just one game way from reaching the group stage of the Europa League, having won 2-0 in the first leg. With this one of the games kicking off at the later time of 6, I decided to make do with just this game today.
The Stade Jos Nosbaum is about a ten minute walk from Dudelange-Usines station, although I decided to get off a couple of steps before, at Dudelange-Ville, to walk through the pleasant town centre, even though it was over twice as far. On reaching the ground's entrance, spectators pay for a ticket from a window in a wall, before passing through the adjacent gate and into one corner of the ground. A fairly large all-seater stand straddles the half way line, with a small drinks outlet (Buvette) underneath the seating to the rear. Behind the goal, after a window where one can purchase refreshments cards for €5 or €10, then a large pink clubhouse that looks more like a residential house immediately behind the goal, with a couple of wooden huts, one serving drinks and the other serving sausages, and which must be paid for with one of the prepurchased cards. Along the remaining length there is a tall bank of uncovered seating, with steep inclines between rows and this area provides an excellent view of the action. Behind the remaining goal there is a walkway behind advertising hoardings, and so it is not possible to watch the game from there. No team sheets were seemingly available.
Dudelange have performed spectacularly in the Europa League, winning through two rounds, beating Kosovo's Drita before a much more impressive win against Legia Warsaw in the last round and they secured a 2-0 first leg lead following the "home" leg played at the National Stadium against Romanian champions RFC Cluj. In the domestic league, they have won one and lost the other of their opening games, having been crowned champions last season. Mondorf had lost two and won one of their opening three league games, having finished in sixth place last season.
Whilst I very much wanted to watch Dudelange following their heroic efforts in the Europa League, I did fear this might have an impact on their league performance, having only played their last match on Thursday evening, and so it proved as they put in a very lethargic performance, and once Mondorf's tails were up, they simply blew their hosts away. It was Dudelange that created the first real chance on 13 minutes, when a cross into the box was headed goalwards to force a flying save from the keeper. That proved to be a crucial moment, as Mondorf took a surprise lead on 18 minutes, when their forward showed good footwork to get to the byline to cross for Olivier Marques to head home despite the keeper and a defender almost managing to get in the way. A surprising lead became even more surprising on 33 minutes, when Ezequiel Cabral doubled Mondorf's lead, when he drove the ball into the roof of the net after an initial shot was parried. Dudelange did manage to create some chances to get on the scoresheet, and two Mondorf players were booked for time wasting before half time. The game seemed far from over at the break.
It pretty much did barely a minute after the restart though. After a defender was dispossessed close to the half way line, Cabral strode forward diagonally towards goal, before coolly slotting the ball under the keeper and into then net. Mondorf were looking threatening with every attack now as Dudelange looked increasingly dispirited, and the scoreline reached unbelievable proportions on 66 minutes, when the visitors scored their fourth. After an initial shot was saved, the ball fell to Marwane Benamra just outside the area, after taking a few touches to steady himself, he drilled the ball low just inside the post. The game then, unsurprisingly, had a quiet spell, before Dudelange pulled a goal back on 85 minutes, Danel Sinani striking the ball goalwards, taking a couple of big deflections en route before finding the back of the net. But then the home side had Kevin Malget sent off for a professional foul, hauling down a Mondorf forward as he sprinted clear towards goal, albeit a long way out. It was unfortunate for Mondorf to lose their clean sheet, but it was still a memorable performance against the reigning champions, who may have had the Europa League more on their minds, with the first leg only played on Thursday night, with the crucial second leg to come next Thursday. It also must be said that Dudelange had rotated their team for this game, as their Europa League adventure seems to be taking priority for the moment.
It was also nice for the terrific small band of Mondorf fans rewarded for their virtually constant loud support consisting of singing, drum banging and trumpet playing, and the celebrations by the players as well as the fans together after the final whistle were more akin to winning a cup than a game of football. By contrast it was surprising how quiet the home fans were, even long before things started to go wrong for their team.
Four days later, and F91 Dudelange did indeed finish the job in the second leg of their Europa League tie, winning 2-3 on the night and 5-2 overall, and can now look forward to glamour matches against AC Milan, Real Betis and Olympiakos.
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