The final game of the trip was a men’s fixture in the second-tier Division of Honour. I’d checked out the location of the Luxembourg-Cents ground and it was within walking distance of our Airbnb. As the route went through a park, Jen and I decided to take a mid-morning reconnaissance stroll, mainly to reduce the chances of me getting lost when I headed out later for the match.
The footpath took us past the castle and provided decent views of the area below before we had to descend into the dip and cross the river. There was a natural history museum along the way and so we called in for an hour. We might well have been the only visitors not to have brought small children with us. The highlight was a badly stuffed penguin that might well have doubled-up as a pyjama case.
We found the Luxembourg-Cents ground after a further uphill trek and discovered that there was a bus stop outside for a service that would take us to within a hundred yards of where we were staying. Much as I wanted to keep my step count up it seemed a waste not to take advantage and so we rode back into town. Three hours later I made the return journey by myself for the game.
It was ten euros admission. Thankfully everyone spoke far better English than I do French, German or Luxembourgish. Who knew that last one was even a thing? I got myself a Coke Zero from a cabin, where I eventually realised that the bloke who served me didn’t actually work in there, but was just helping me out whilst the woman in charge was somewhere else.
Luxembourg-Cents has a two thousand, eight-hundred capacity. There’s seating all down one side with a central covered section. I liked that the sides of that stand were clear plastic, so you got protection from the wind, but also were able to see the action when it was taking place by either of the near-side corner flags.
There was a Saint Bernard sat in there for a while, up on a seat, watching the game and possibly with designs on getting out there and chasing the match-ball. Every now and then a plane would fly over, heading for the airport a couple of miles down the road.
Luxembourg City are a fairly new team, formed from a merger and recently rebranded. This was their first season back in the second-tier after promotion last year. Koeppchen Wormeldange have a bit more history behind them, dating back to 1919.
Both sides struggled to make an early impact and there were minimal chances in the first half. Wormeldange came closest to scoring with a effort that was chalked-off for offside.
At half-time I wandered over to where a fella was grilling burgers and sausages. He directed me back to the cabin that I’d been to earlier to buy a ticket and explained to me what to ask for. I ended up with German sausage in a French baguette. Best of both worlds really.
Chances remained at a premium after the restart and for a while it looked like both sides might keep a clean sheet. Luxembourg eventually broke the deadlock twenty minutes from time when one of their players managed to lose his marker at a corner and plant the subsequent free header into the net.
The hosts held on to their lead to take the points and I was able to catch the bus outside of the stadium for a quick return to the city centre and a last evening out.
Trail of the Lion King 