Dire draw in Dortmund

The problem with relegation last season should have been that Rot Weiss Essen would be playing in smaller stadiums against small town teams. However, the first two games away from Georg-Melches-Stadion have seen Essen facing Düsseldorf in a 50,000 seat arena and on Sunday against Dortmund II in the 80,000 Westfalonstadion.

Both games ended in goalless draws and while the atmosphere in Dusseldorf was vibrant, the 4,000 crowd on Sunday was subdued and they found it difficult to drum up any enthusiasm playing against the reserve team of the Bundesliga club.

I was actually tempted to leave at half-time - annoyed at the game, the atmosphere and the beer prices. The second half was marginally better but with no clear cuts chances for either team a 0-0 scoreline always looked on the cards. The team were booed off the pitch - even when they came to clap the away support (3,000 out of the 4,00o at the game).

The reality of relegation is slowly sinking in. A new team full of poor players who rarely look like scoring.

Went back to the place I used to stay to watch the Liverpool Chelsea game on TV. Until the penalty it was a satisfying performance and they showed the highlights of Manchester United's derby defeat during the half-time break. The sight of Alex Ferguson celebrating a non-goal was quite amusing.

die Schlachtgesänge - football songs
betrunkenen - drunken