RSD Jette - Stade Communal

RSD Jette

Stade Communal

Av. de l'Exposition 257

1090 Jette

Belgium

+32465373861

Official Website

Twitter (not maintained)

Facebook

Ground Number: 1106

Sunday 11th September 2022

RSD Jette 0-0 FC Ganshoren

Tweede Klasse ACFF

RSD JETTE - A BRIEF HISTORY

There is scant information about the club online, but they appear to be a reformed club, established or re-established in 2002. They have spent most of their history in the Belgian Provincial leagues but in 2019 they won promotion to the third tier of Belgian football, known as the Tweede Klasse. The club is more of a community team with 750 members and several age groups is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Ganshoren, Koekelberg, and Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, as well as the Flemish municipalities of Asse and Wemmel. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is bilingual with French and Dutch spoken. The most famous person from the area, at least for UK folk is Jason Denayer, a youth player for Man City who made 24 appearances for Sunderland.

 MY VISIT

As part of my last-minute trip to Belgium, I had a wealth of Sunday afternoon options to choose from. RSD Jette was the standout option with them having a fantastic stadium and it was a bit of a no-brainer really. The only downside was the lack of social media presence and updates for the smaller Belgian clubs, but it was just something I was going to have to live with. I did also have a later game at  Union St Gilloise lined up, but everything was a bit up in the air with no tickets available online. I did secure one although it was a disabled carer and they sent me it, including a barcode to get into the stadium for nothing. However, I'd rather gain a legit ticket on the day, but I'd cross that bridge on the day.

I awoke fairly early on the day of the game. There was a noisy road outside and some building work going on. Sundays are horrible at home, but in Belgium, they seemed much more relaxed. A downside is that all the supermarkets were closed - heaven for me back home, but a pain when I fancied a few bits from Lidl. In fact, the Belgian Sunday was more like the English Saturday with the majority of football on this day. The Belgian Saturday was more like a Sunday in England, with quite a few undesirables about on my walks about yesterday, but it did end with an English-style Friday night, a few games of football and the pubs/bars packed out. After missing out last night, I had already decided on Brewdog as my first plan of the day. That meant I could relax in my room for a while, catch up with my blog and do some much-needed research into how the day was going to go. I did hear the maids coming in and out of some of the rooms and thought that I might have to make an early exit, but thankfully, they soon went away. I wasn't bothered about having my room made up anyway.

I left at 11.40, maybe I should have left earlier, but time would tell. I found the shop that I wanted, getting a big bottle of drink and a cake. Cash machines were not so plentiful though and as cash was still king at some bars and most football grounds, I topped up with another 20 Euros. I got to Brewdog at 12.20 and it took a while to get table service. I ordered a plum cider from a place called Elegast in the Netherlands and this was actually very good, sour rather than sweet and an interesting drop. If only the English were as good at making fruit ciders, I might have them more often. The buffalo chicken burger was also brilliant along with sweet potato fries. There was time for another pint, Kirsch Karaoke, a German Cherry Beer. Not quite as good as the Belgians but my first wheat beer, fruited being my only way to discover beer as I don't usually like the taste. 36 Euros later, I headed for the ground via a few metros, changing at Bekkant and Simonis. I got to the stop near the ground and then it was a five-minute walk with me arriving around 2. The clubhouse was nicely designed and it was the language barrier rather than the token system we had to negotiate this time. But we got there in the end, with me having a Lindemans Kriek to wet my whistle.

 

Jette had started the season pretty well, progressing in the Belgian Cup with a 2-1 win over Svelta Melsele and a 6-1 win at Trois-Ponts. They fell at the third hurdle, losing 2-1 at Dender. In the league, they had opened with a 5-1 win over Acren-Lessines before drawing 3-3 at Solieres Sport. Ganshoren had a similar story in the cup, beating Leopold 2-1 and winning 2-0 at Waremme before a 3-2 defeat after extra time at Patro Eisden. In the league, they had two draws, 1-1 at Waremme and 0-0 against  Verlaine. The game itself was not the best. Not many chances and those few that were created resulted in wayward shots. It opened up near the end and a few minutes from the end, the game was summed up when a Ganshoren man managed to clear one of his own team's shot off of the opposition's line when he got in the way. In the end, it was inevitable that it would end goalless, though it wasn't the worst 0-0 I've ever seen. I later found out that both of their clashes last season ended 0-0, at least according to Futbology. It was time to beat a hasty retreat to my next game. There was a decent crowd at Jette, I'd estimate around 400.

THE GROUND

THE STADE COMMUNAL DE JETTE is a fantastic venue. The clubhouse is one of the first things you see and this is fantastic with a really unique design and lots of club memorabilia. I didn't see any club merchandise on sale and they did food although you had to pay at the bar for that. The ground itself was amazing, set in a forest and with huge curving terracing and a small covered stand in the centre. There's even a second 3G pitch which has some great terracing and a small stand and this is worth a visit in its own right. It's well connected on the public transport system too.