Spjald Stadion, DBU Jutland Series 3, 14/8/23
Me 291
Spjald Idrætsforening Fodbold
Founded – 1938
Nickname – N/A
Honours – None
Random Fact – The club have produced one international player. Jesper Juelsgard who is currently at second tier Fredericia. He spent large parts of his career at Midtjylland and AGF but also represented his country at U16, U17, U18, U19, U21 and was also capped by the full team on two occasions.
With Loganair surprising nobody with a delayed flight, my plan to head to Viborg v Hvidorve in the Superliga bit the dust as I had no time to get there. As I sat with a pint in the Airport bar, I was not to be deterred and was determined to get a game at night. As I scoured the DBU Jutland website there were plenty of games on, however most were out of reach, Jutland is a big old place for the record. One club jumped out at me. Spjald IF as after a quick check of Google Maps it turned out reaching Spjald was achievable as it lies just north of Skjern. This being a place I had visited in the past for a game and knowing it is on the train line from Esbjerg gave me the first part of the hike to Spjald. (I also knew there was a train home at 21.40 from previous excursions) The second part would have to be a taxi as a bus or train would have taken me on huge detours wasting precious time I did not have. (10th tier)Game on.
Spjald is a blink and you would miss it town with only 1200 Spjaldborgeres living there. Due to this and the fact it looked like there was nowehere to get a pint I decided to eat and drink at the Skjern Hotel. Somewhere I visited previously. A couple of Fur brewery beers and a delightful bowl of gumbo went down the hatch and I was away in the taxi along the longest straight of road I think I had ever travelled on. The 13 or so miles seemed to be straight as an arrow and with Denmark being so flat you could see miles up the road. A bonnie drive it was to with the never ending cornfields, farms dotted about and the ability to see for miles in any direction you looked. I found myself in Spjald with plenty time to spare this leading to a wee wander about the place. Let me assure you, it really was wee too, there is nothing there and the decision for pre-match beers in Skjern looked to had come up trumps. As I sauntered back towards the ground I couldn’t believe the heat, I was in for a hot one, bollocks to playing it. Eating Haribos in the Jutland sun was looking like it would be sweat inducing let alone running for 90 minutes. As i turned down Stadionveg the stand could be seen poking its head over the hedge. It looked glorious. I knew I had stumbled on a hidden gem on a road less travelled. I was entirely correct. Since starting work in Denmark in September last year I have seen matches in the Europa and Conference leagues, the Superliga, second and third tiers but I have much preferred these trips to random lower league grounds and in Spjald I found my favourite. It truly is a wonderful little ground completed by the fact they have a fantastically old school badge which can be seen around the place. Another massive plus point, they had sausages cooking to be washed down with some Tuborg. Delightful. The Spjald Stadion is surrounded largely by trees, with the wooden stand on one wing and the clubhouse/patio area opposite the stand. It has real character about it. I genuinely knew it was a special place as soon as I walked in.
With the funny looks coming in abundance from all angles towards my Aberdeen t-shirt I basked in the sun with a sausage…..well two as I had seconds(no remoulade on the second, too sweet that stuff) because they were ace I couldn’t get over how great a set up this was. It was one of my favourite foreign grounds I had set foot in without a shadow of a doubt. But would the fitba live up to it? It was a bit one sided in truth but that doesnt mean it was a bad watch. The game starting pretty even overall but Spjald came more and more into it. Herning had the first chance in the opening minutes when a decent effort Hamid Hakimi pulled out a solid save from home keeper Kasper Nahnsen. Early on, I couldn’t help notice the amount of times both sides were guilty of waiting on the ball. It was constant and clearly frustrating both benches. Herning choosing not to utilise their dug out on the stand side and instead pitching up on the opposite wing. Maybe it was so they could get a whiff of the awesome smell of pork in the air? Both teams were trying to play good football knocking it about on the deck at speed. The quality seemed to improve as the game aged. Both teams had big chances one after the other mid half and both should have scored Sorensen for the hosts and Hakimi for the Herning. But the former made no mistake with a superb pass on the half hour when he played in Agerbo who was left with far too much space at the left hand side of the box from where he struck across the goal and into the top corner. A tidy finish. This giving the band of “Spjald Ultras” something to shout about down their megaphone. It was soon two when Sorensen was played in by a ball over the top then cool as you like slotted home away from Christiansen’s reach.
HT 2 v 0
I decided to sit in the stand for the second half and before I could reach it, Herning had nabbed one back when Mathias Ravn(good Dons related name) scored from inside the box. Was this game on? Not really as Spjald were the better side and on 55 minutes they restored their 2 goal lead when Agerbo returned the favour for Sorensen when he turned provider leaving his team mate to score from close range. This bring out the horns from the Ultras, something I am glad wasnt a common sound during the game. Especially being in the stand with them. On the stand it is great. 100% made of wood theat will give you splinters in your arse and is surely a fire hazard. It’s basic but a splendid piece of fitba architecture. Spjald continued to press and chase another, Herning resorted to booming challenges. Spjald had a couple of chances with the woodwork being struck in amongst them. Herning missed a sitter from point blank range with 5 to go then Spjald finished the job seconds after said sitter when Thomas Kristensen curled an effort into the bottom corner from distance as I had a random nosebleed after a sneeze which just didn’t want to stop. I didn’t see much of the last 5 minutes due to my crimson explosion but the score stayed at 4 v 1 and the three points stayed at this wonderful ground.
Not my original plan but one I wont forget. A bloody brilliant experience. With my chopper time changing to earlier in the day, the next instalment of Jutland lower division tours is already pencilled in for the day I get back onshore. Look out Varde IF I am coming to eat your sausages, drink your beer and bleed on your stand
Entrance – Free
Attendance – 124
Pie – 65DKK Suasage and Tuborg deal (approx £7.50)
Pint – 40DKK,Tuborg Classic (approx £4.50)
FITBAWBAG 