30 Aug, 2024

A new season at Stadion an der Alten Försterei

Report by Kristian Eikre

I've been looking forward to the first home game at Alte Försterei all summer long. When I understood that St. Pauli would be our first home contester, that made it even better. The flight ticket was booked early in the summer. I was slightly irritated when I saw that the game was scheduled for Friday night. Work Friday meant I couldn't leave Oslo until the afternoon. But it was still manageable, although extremely tight. My flight landed at BER 19:45, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. 10 minutes later, I was in a taxi to Alte Försterei and by 20:20, a whole 10 minutes before the start of the match, I was inside the stadium. Smooth, this must be a lucky day! I even had time to buy the matchday program and a beer before I found my Bamsegjengen-friends in the stand.

The match was, as expected, even and tough with few scoring opportunities. After 34 minutes, Benedict Hollerbach gave us the relieving goal with a long-range shot, after St. Pauli cleared a corner out to the space outside the 16-yard box. Union was in the lead 1-0. The rest of the first half and the entire second half were nerve-wracking, but no further goals were scored. Union had secured the first home-win for the season!

What I'll remember most from the match, however, was the again fantastic atmosphere in the stadium, the smoke from Waldseite, how great it was to see all the Union friends again, and the incredible feeling that Alten Försterei-games in the Bundesliga are again underway. The adventure continues……

EISERN