Frøs Arena, DBU Jutland Series 1, 27/9/22
Me 249
Ribe Boldklub
Founded – 1917
Nickname – RBK
Honours – Unknown
Random Fact – A town fact rather than football. Ribe is the oldest Scandinavian town left in existence. It dates back to the early 8th century, during the Germanic Iron Age
The highest level of my lower DBU hike tonight to the historic Ribe, a town now swallowed up in the Esbjerg Municipality. This coming in at the 8th tier of the pyramid. A day later than expected as for some reason I had it in my head that the 27th was Monday. It wasn’t until I received an invitation for a meeting late on Monday that I realised I was out, if I didn’t I would have headed to Ribe on the wrong day.
Tuesday 27th, I find myself in Ribe. A place I had never heard of before. As it turns out it is historic. (See Random Fact or Google it). The Frøs Arena was not there 1000 years ago like some of the stunning buildings in the city I saw as I wandered about but it was the main event for the night. Again like other venues visited this covers a large area with varying football pitches based around the Frøs Arena and clubhouse. It’s a decent set up and seemed to be in full use throughout the night. Also to be noted I found the cheapest beer to date in the clubhouse cafe. A result before a ball had even been kicked. As this was the highest of the lower league games I am to see this trip I didn’t know what to expect crowd or standard wise. Again these teams could easily slot into the the local Juniors Premier League back home like some of the other teams witnessed so far. The crowd for this one was also up a bit on the previous forty odd or so seen elsewhere.
The game was played entirely on the deck which was refreshing to see. So much so that the ball did not once leave the confides of the sponsor boards at any point for the whole match which is surely some kind of rarity. Although the game was played in a neat quick passing fashion it was devoid of much goal mouth action in the first half. There were a few half chances for the home side but in general when either side attacked they were quickly crowded out with the threat being nullified. A very even affair which was on the whole played in the middle third of the pitch. That doesn’t necessarily mean it was bad to watch but so more attacking play wouldn’t have went a miss to add some heat to what was becoming a bloody cold night. It took until the 43rd minute before the first real chance and it was the opener for Ribe. A long range through ball from Thomas Clausen was swung at and missed by the Midtals defender leaving Magnus Stuber to nip in and stab the ball under keeper Strussman from ten yards or so. A calamity of a goal but I was not complaining. The deadlock was broken.
HT 1 v 0
The second half was much and such the same as the first barring the fact I had some serious stiff nips on the go due to the plummeting temperatures, but at least my beers were kept cold, swings and roundabouts I suppose. One thing I noted throughout was the match ball had a weird ping to it when struck, akin to when you hit a plasi-floater as hard as you can. Once I had tuned into it I couldn’t tune out for the rest of the game. Ribe again created a few early half chances but had to wait for 20 minutes before they got their second and fuck me what a goal. By far the best goal I have seen this season and it was that man Stuber again. The striker received the ball on the 18 yard line from Clausen while facing me on the side line, then without looking and two men in close proximity, scooped the ball with the outside of his right foot up and over Strussman who could only admire this incredible and equally audacious one touch effort as it dropped behind him into the goal. Superb stuff. I will be hard pushed to see a better goal this season. This turned the game in Ribe’s favour as Midtals seemed to lose a bit of spirit. The game was put out of any doubt which in all honesty there was none when provider of the first two , Thomas Clausen rifled home an effort through a pile of bodies from eighteen yards.
As I left the Frøs Arena I fancied a pint in the Ribe Bryghus which I had spied on Google maps earlier but as I got there it was closed this putting me back on to Google maps to see where the next boozer was , what I didn’t realise was I was standing on a level crossing which all of a sudden crashed its gates down with little warning. An occurrence that has never been done before by myself and probably wont again. As I ducked under the barrier and the train whizzed past I was on my merry way into the city again. Before my train home I went back to seek out some more of the breath taking old architecture in the town as I had an hour to burn then grab a couple of pints (Stenbohus was a decent boozer for the record). Trust me, if you find yourself in south Jutland, Ribe is a must. It is truly stunning even in the dark. The darkness actually adds an eeriness to this grand old ancient city. I genuinely think it is the most aesthetically pleasing place I have visited. So much so I am going back on Saturday night for a fitba free wander about the joint and a few beers when its light. With the centre piece that is the Domkirke which dates back to 1200s it really is a place you must see. Truly beautiful.
Entrance – Free
Attendance – 67
Pie – N/A
Pint – Thor Pilsener, Clubhouse, 25dkk (£3)
FITBAWBAG 