Arminia HannoverGround: Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion Visits: 1 Date: 31st October 2019 Match: Arminia Hannover - Heeslinger SC 1-1 (Oberliga Niedersachsen) Attendance: 300 In some of the Bundesländer in Germany 31 October is a public holiday. Niedersachsen is one of those where (most) people are off work and for me that was good news. Oberliga Niedersachsen (level 5) offered a full round of matches and with Arminia Hannover playing at home the decision was very easy. Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion hosted 2. Bundesliga football between 1975 and 1979 and is a lovely looking old-style football ground. Kick-off was at 15.00 and travelling by train from Berlin I was at my hotel in central Hannover by 11.30. It was yet another crystal clear cold day in northern Germany and it was nice to stroll around in the city centre and the warm-up with a lasagna at an Italian restaurant. Arminia Hannover was founded in 1910 and the good years for the club were in the late 1970s when they played in 2. Bundesliga Nord. In recent years the club has played at level 5 and 6. Since 2014 Armina has played in Oberliga Niedersachsen and at the moment the club is fighting to stay up. Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion has a covered main stand with wooden benches and a terrace stretching around half the ground. The terrace is a natural one and due to not having a concrete terrace I was informed Arminia would not be allowed to play in the Regionalliga at this ground. From the city centre it was easy to travel to the ground. From Kröpke U-bahn station it was only 10 minutes to the stop next to Rudolf-Kalweit-Stadion. As I arrived the gates were open and I went inside to take pictures. In the glorious weather I could take some really nice pictures of the ground. As kick-off approached I decided to stand in the terrace behind the goal. That meant having the sun straight in my eyes but it was also the warmest part of the ground. The number 1 Arminia Hannover supporter is probably Jens M and I have met him several times in Sweden. Due to the birth of his child he has not been to any Arminia Hannover matches this year, until today that is. I was quite surprised when he was suddenly standing next to me and we had a lot of catching up to do. It has not been a good start of the season for Arminia Hannover. They are in the bottom half of the table and the goal must be to avoid relegation. They had a poor start to this match as well. Heeslinger SC made it 0-1 early on and shortly before half-time Arminia had a player sent off. This was not even close to the entertainment in Berlin last night but in the second half both teams were fighting hard. 15 minutes from the end Arminia somehow manage to equalize and the match ended 1-1. As the final whistle was blown Arminia fans in the terrace celebrated with their team. I said good-bye to Jens and we will hopefully meet up again in the near future. Entrance West Stand West Stand West Stand North Stand North Stand North Stand East Stand SV Arminia Hannover South End Remembrance stone Players and officials entering Kick-off View of play West Stand View of play North Stand North Stand East Stand After the match Pano Pano |