Tistrup Stadion, DBU Series 5, 28/9/22
Me 251
Klubsamarbejdet HTS
Founded – Although the three clubs date back year and years, the coalition seems to be in 2016 (I cannot find any evidence of them online prior to this)
Nickname – HTS
Honours – Unknown
Random Fact – The club are a collaborative effort of three local to eachother clubs, Horne IF, Tistrup Boldklub and Sig TIF. This coming about in a venture to ensure players were never in short supply.
Not plan A but I stumbled upon this quite late in the day. Varde IF v Naesburg RUI was the plan but for whatever reason it was called off or “doomed” as the translation on the DBU Jutland website stated. A visit to Tistrup was in fact not even plan B as I was all ready to watch Esbjerg fB (1) up at the clubhouse. Then I noticed this fixture right at the bottom of the list on the DBU site. With this being my last chance of a game before returning home for leave I was much more inclined to head here and tick off a new place than the wander to EfB and the zombie bar again.
What a choice though. The ground is a gem and located in a what seems to be a tiny wee town. By that I mean smaller than my own town of Meldrum (on further investigation, it’s on par with Brora, the smallest town in the Highland League). Sleepy but has this fantastic wee ground on the outskirts. Again like Brora.
With a couple of tinnies in hand I joined the other 14 spectators for the bottom wrung of the DBU ladder. A level which interestingly I learned as I travelled up, if you cant raise a team of eleven you can ask the opposition to play with nine and they cannot refuse it. (It is in the rule book online). As I stood there waiting for kick off I became clear this meant I had seen a game in all five Series over the last week. It was not deliberate but it made the fact the Varde game being off a better thing than I first imagined. Ribe Series 1, Hjerting 2, Esbjerg fB (2) 3, Coconut Lions 4 and now HTS in the fifth. I had inadvertently completed the pack. Now for the Superliga down to the 7th tier or Jyllandserien as its called in this area, But that will have to wait. On this game I really expected Sunday League and to an extent I got just that. There were a few bellies that could maybe have been a bit smaller, there were some ages that could have been a wee bit younger and there was even a substitute smoking on the side. Then there was the play. The first half was littered with unforced errors and rushed decision making. But one thing was clear. Aadum were technically better and early on I knew they would win. The first real chance fell to Scarlet Gabriel who connected a volley beautifully from 18 yards but it crashed off the post and away to safety. But it was Gabriel again at the end of an identical move who put the visitors in the lead, again hitting the post from the same range but this time the ball bouncing into the goal. That was about it for action in the first half barring the dropping temperatures keeping my beer nice and cold.
HT 0 v 1
At half time I could here the Aadum subs speaking and it definitely wasn’t Danish. I had suspected a couple of foreign bodies during the first half but on the language these guys were speaking I couldn’t quite place it. Then just as the second half started a girl turned up and cheered the early second for Aadum when Ciprian Tuca took advantage of some horrific defending from HTS who couldn’t clear their lines, leaving the Aadum man to thump home from ten yards. The girl was also shouting in a language that wasn’t Danish. This led me to asking and subsequently finding out an interesting fact which put a wee bit of an international twist on the proceedings. She told me that Aadum are in fact a fully Romanian side. (The scorers names will give it away as you read on). This very reminiscent of FC Polska in the Aberdeenshire amateurs. The game descended into a rout from here. George Eusebiu Manolache bagged a quality third when he ran from the centre circle while dancing past a few HTS men before letting off a powerful 18 yard drive that skidded off the deck into the bottom corner. It was that man Manolache again who was the architect of the fourth a a minute later when he skinned two players out wide on the right and drove a ball across which was put into his own net by the HTS captain. Incredibly Aadum grabbed another in this three minutes spell and it was goal of the night. Manolache pinged a superb through ball to Tuca who “tuca” touch then chipped the keeper from 18 yards. A great finish which saw the HTS keeper go down “injured” and call it a night at 6 down. HTS did get one back though a mirror image of the OG at the other end when Bogdan slid in to clear but fired into the roof of his own net. Just as the cold was at it’s full wintery teeth chattering best, the beer cans were spent and the referee had his whistle in his mouth Aadum decided they were not finished and broke at pace via a through ball from the magnificent and far too good for this level Manolache which Ciprian Tuca and Alexandru Tutunaru chased, Tuca reached the ball first and sportingly played in his mate instead of getting his own glory of a hat-trick. Tutunara finished the move, the ref finished the game and my Jutland rampage looked to be finished for this trip.
Although I am gutted this comes to an end for now, I cannot really complain about the tour as it has turned out pretty well. 6 games, 34 goals, 6 new grounds, all 5 Series viewed, Europa League, Serie A team, 1 ex-Dutch international playing 10th tier, 1 ex-St Johnstone player, goal of the season, tinnies on the side line with a teams fans, cheap beer, new friends, the most stunning city I have set foot in and an invite for a stadium tour and a game at Esbjerg fB. Embracing fitba at all levels is what its all about. DBU Jutland, let us stay pals.
Entrance – Free
Attendance – 15
Pie – N/A
Pint – Brought my own
FITBAWBAG 