Making It to the Stadium Against All Odds
Okay, so today started with me thinking, “Right, Shakhtar against Marseille! That’s gonna be wild.” Grabbed my old scarf, decent one, faded but still got spirit. Decided to go early, beat the queues? Big mistake. Traffic was stuck solid, like glue. Cars honking, people shouting, whole city seemed jammed. Took me nearly two hours extra! Sweating bullets just sitting there.
Finally got near the ground, legs stiff. Parked somewhere dodgy, miles off. Walked forever, feet already sore. Then comes the security line. Absolute nightmare. Slowest moving line ever seen. Felt like eternity. Someone ahead argued with the guard about some bottle, held everyone up. My patience? Gone. Almost turned back.
Inside the Madness
Squeezed through the gates finally, buzzing but knackered. Found my section, pushed past folk shuffling to their seats. Then… found my spot. Massive pillar right smack in front. Blocked half the near goal! Paid decent cash for this! Gutted, absolutely gutted. But hey, what can you do? Just shuffle sideways a bit, crane the neck. Resigned myself to a stiff neck tomorrow.
Game kicks off. Shakhtar starts sharp, moving the ball quick. Marseille looks heavy, slow. Crowd’s roaring, mostly yellow and black behind me. Marseille fans down the other end making noise though. Proper atmosphere building. Saw that:
- Shakhtar kid, Sikan? Lightning fast. Darted past Marseille defenders like they were training cones.
- Marseille player went down near our end – acted like he’d been shot. Crowd went ballistic, screaming “Diver!” Felt that anger!
- Shakhtar keeper pulled off this insane one-handed save from point blank range. Whole stand erupted! Hair stood up on my arms.
The Goals & The Mess That Followed
First half ends 1-0 Shakhtar. Nice goal, clean finish. Mood lifted despite the pillar. Then second half, Marseille woke up! Pushed hard. Pressure built. Shakhtar hanging on. Felt nervous, knees bouncing. They equalized! Marseille lad smashed it in low after chaos in the box. Our end went quiet. Tense, very tense.
Shakhtar pushed back. Couple of chances went begging, groans everywhere. Then, out of nothing – bam! Kelsey header right at the death! Corner whipped in, he rose highest, buried it. Absolute limbs! Scarf flying, beer shower, hugged complete strangers. What a feeling!
Game over. Shakhtar wins! Euphoria lasted… until trying to leave. Getting out was worse than getting in. Thousands crammed tight, shuffling inch by inch. Stewards useless. Someone fell over near me, caused a crush. Proper scary moment. Shouting, shoving. Took ages just to get clear air. Ended up walking miles back to the car in the dark, tired but buzzing.
Final thought? Stadium needs sorting. Parking, security, blocked views, exit chaos. Team showed heart though. Won ugly, won passionate. Got the three points. Worth the hassle? Today… yeah. But next time? Maybe just watch it in the pub. My neck agrees.