HolbækGround: Holbæk Sportsby Visits: 1 Date: 11th October 2020 Match: Holbæk - Aarhus Fremad 3-0 (2. Division, pulje 1) Attendance: 160 My long term ambition for Denmark is to complete the top two divisions and to visit every ground in the top three divisions east of Store Bælt. There is a toll bridge at Store Bælt and the strait is the divider between east and west in Denmark. This year there are 2x14 teams in 2. Division and pulje 1 is for western teams. Since there are 17 eastern teams there was a draw to re-group 3 clubs and Holbæk was one of those clubs having to play with clubs from western Denmark. Last year Holbæk BI moved from Holbæk Stadion to the new football ground at Holbæk Sportsby. Sportsby means sports village and it is mainly a complex for indoor sports but there is also a football ground. This new ground was my last remaining ground east of Store Bælt and as I set off on Sunday morning I was looking forward to once again visit Denmark. Holbæk Sportsby is close to the motorway and going by car it is a ground easy to reach. From Kristianstad it took me around 2 h 15 min and as I left my car to take a few exterior pictures I was pleased to be wearing my winter coat. My first impression of the ground was that this is quite a basic ground. The only stand has 320 seats but during the Corona pandemic capacity is reduced to 160. Normally you can also stand behind one end and on the far side but that is not allowed at the moment. Entrance was via the indoor complex and all tickets had to be purchased in advance. My name was on the list and 30 minutes prior to kick-off I was inside the ground. Due to the restructuring of the Danish league pyramid clubs in this season´s 2. Division can end up in four different (level 2 to 5) divisions next season. Aarhus Fremad lost out on promotion to 1. Division on goal difference last season and were probably hoping for a promotion push this season as well. At the moment it seems like they should aim at playing in the new national level 3-league next season though. Holbæk on the other hand are fighting to avoid being relegated to Danmarksserien, which will be level 5 next season. It was around 10 degrees and a bit windy this Sunday afternoon but Holbæk didn´t mind and were deservedly 1-0 up at half-time. Aarhus Fremad had around 20 fans at the match but this was to be a disappointing afternoon for them. In the second half the visitors headed off the bar and had a few other good chances to equalize. Holbæk were more clinical today though and as the final whistle was blown the score-board said 3-0 to Holbæk. Another great day out for me in Denmark and hopefully I can be back at least once more this autumn. ![]() Holbæk Sportsby East Stand East Stand Players entering Kick-off South End View of play View of play Looking towards the west side Viiew of play North End Watching for free! East Stand 3-0 Pano |