FC Jeunesse Lorraine Arlonaise 2 v 2 RFC Saint-Hubert

Saturday 25th August 2018
Belgian Provincale P1 Luxembourg Region
Stade de l'Avenue de Longwy, Arlon
Admission: €6.00
Team Sheet: Free
Attendance: 110
Match Rating: 4

Booking a long weekend trip over the bank holiday weekend to Luxembourg, I was hoping to be able to take in a game on Saturday as well as Sunday in the Grand Duchy, although that is always a risk in a country like Luxembourg, where the FA only confirms kick off times just over a week beforehand. And it turned out that this would be one of the rare weekends that not one single game in the Grand Duchy was scheduled for the Saturday. And so I would have to venture into a neighbouring country for my Saturday game. A trip south into France for some seventh tier football at FC Thionville appealed initially, until the French FA website indicated this the game would be played on the club's second, plastic pitch. And so instead I headed just over the western border into Belgium, for this sixth tier game. Although it would be further down the pyramid than I would have ideally liked, a little research showed the ground would be an interesting, if decaying one.

The Stade de l'Avenue de Longwy is about a twenty minute walk from Arlon train station (although I had to catch a replacement bus from Luxembourg City as the train line was closed for engineering works), and after having some chips with mayonnaise washed down with the Luxumbourg national beer Bofferding in the excellent nearby Friterie "Chez Harry", I proceeded to the ground, which is located down a short track, past some extensive building work, before paying admission at a basic small ticket office hut, before passing to the side, handing my ticket to be ripped as validation, then entering the ground behind a goal. There are quite large stands straddling the half way line on either side - to the right of the entrance, there is a decent all-seater stand with good, unobstructed views and the bar, hot food and hospitality area is located above the seating. Team sheets were available from a table here. Either side of the stand there are a couple of steps of uncovered terrace. On the opposite side, there is quite a long stand covering concrete steps, with serving hatches to the rear that seem to have long since been unused. The path along the front is very overgrown, becoming worse towards the far corner. There is just hard standing behind both goals. It is certainly a ground that has seen better days, but better than one would imagine so far down the football pyramid in Belgium, and I subsequently learned that the ground will soon be consigned to history, as plans are in place to redevelop the site.

Last season Arlon finished in 11th place in the 14 team division, and opened this season with a defeat. Saint Hubert, promoted to this level of football this season, started their season with a 1-1 draw.

On a sunny evening before night fell around half time, this was an entertaining game that was unsurprisingly low on quality at times, and which Arlon looked the stronger team during the first half, whilst Saint Hubert probably shaded the second half. Arlon took the lead on 40 minutes when, after an initial shot was blocked, the ball fell to the feet of Adrien Reuter, and his shot wasn't particularly strong and should have been comfortably gathered by the keeper, who instead let the ball squirm through his hands. Soon after the restart he partially redeemed himself with a good block to thwart a one on one. And into added on time at the end of the first half, a good move ended with a curling shot past the keeper but was acrobatically blocked by a defender. And so Arlon held a slender 1-0 lead at half time.

Five minutes into the second half and Saint Hubert were gifted an equaliser, a free kick was played in from the right wing and Arlon defender Renaud Ciao headed the ball into his own net. On the hour mark, Arlon were awarded a penalty after their forward burst into the box and was then pulled back. Abdou N'Diaye struck the ball low down the middle to restore the home side's lead. But that lead would only last two minutes with a very good goal, Lefort curling the ball into the top left corner from the edge of the area. A winner never looked very likely for the rest of the match, and indeed the points were shared.

Whilst this was something of a last resort game for me, I was glad I went, watching an enjoyable encounter at a ground with plenty of character, although having to wait around 45 minutes for a bus back to Luxembourg after the match was not particularly welcome, getting back to my accommodation at gone midnight, having set out from home at 4am.