Slovan BratislavaGround: Tehelné pole Visits: 1 Date: 10th July 2019 Match: Slovan Bratislava - Sutjeska Nikšić 1-1 (UEFA Champions League, qualifying) Attendance: 11 250 For the second match on this tour I had different options. Siroki Brijeg (Bosnia) and Cukaricki (Serbia) were playing in the Europa League on Thursday evening. In the end I decided for Slovan Bratislava v Sutjeska Niksic in the CL-qualifying on Wednesday evening though. From Sarajevo there was a flight to Vienna 07.35 on Wednesday morning and from the airport it then takes around an hour by bus to Bratislava. My alarm buzzed at 04.50 this rainy morning and once at the airport everything went smoothly. There are only 6 gates and Sarajevo airport was smaller than I expected. The flight was on time and I made the 09.30 bus to Bratislava. I was at my hotel shortly before 11am but my room was not ready yet. Having been up early I was by now quite hungry and across the street from the hotel I enjoyed a nice and earlier than usual lunch. Once I had finished my lunch I made it to the ground by foot to take a few exterior pictures. My only previous to Slovakia was in 2014. Back then Slovan played at Stadion Pasienky but after a 10-year long wait their old ground, Tehelné pole, has finally been demolished and rebuilt meaning Slovan Bratislava are once again back at their beloved home. The rebuilt Tehelné pole has a capacity of 22 500 and the opening match was played in January 2019. Tehelné pole is actually only a few hundred metres from Stadion Pasienky but many hard-core Slovan fans disliked Stadion Pasienky, mainly because it used to be the home of Inter Bratislava. I have to say the rebuilt Tehelné pole feels really fresh and modern with excellent legroom. The exterior of the ground has not been fully completed yet though but his is a ground that will serve Slovan Bratislava and Slovakian football well. Kick-off this evening was at 20.15 and the weather conditions, 21-22 °C, tonight were much better compared to yesterday. My seat was in the East Stand and that stand was actually pretty full tonight. The most vocal home fans were in the stand to my left and they gave their side a good support throughout the match. Sutjeska Niksic brought around 30 fans to Slovakia and in total 11,250 were at Tehelné pole for this CL-qualifier. Slovan Bratislava were by far the better team but somehow they missed one glorious chance after the other. In the 82nd minute the deadlock was finally broken though, 1-0 to Slovan who then pressed on to score yet another goal. Stoppage time was announced to be five minutes and in the last of those Sutjeska Niksic scored with a long-range shot, via the post, to make it 1-1. Hardly a fair result but you have to score from your chances. I still think Slovan will go through to the next round but now they have at to score at least one goal in Montenegro next week. Tehelné pole, rear of the South Stand ![]() Seating plan Rear of the North Stand Rear of the Northwest corner Rear of the West Stand View from the outside ![]() Fans outside the ground South Stand West Stand North Stand East Stand Players and officials entering Scarves are out South Stand Solvan fans West Stand View of play North Stand Sutjeska Nikšić fans After the match Pano Pano |