SV Juliana 31 - Sportpark De Broeklanden

SV Juliana

Sportpark De Broeklanden

Broekkant 39

6581 AC Malden

Netherlands

Official Website

Twitter

Ground Number: 1117
Saturday 8th October 2022

SV Juliana 31 0-1 VV Veenendaal

Derde Klass Zaterdag Oost A

SV JULIANA 31 - A BRIEF HISTORY

The club was established in the summer of 1931. They transformed a piece of land that was originally a caravan site into a football field. At the time, Malden, where the club was based was a small picturesque village with a population of 1,600 compared to the town of 11,000 that it is today. Their first game was a friendly against a team called  Eendracht from the municipality of  Mook en Middelaar. The club was officially formed and entered into a local league at Café Nillissen, now the site of 'Wok' restaurant. Honours include the Eerste Klasse A, 1941 whilst their second team won the Tweede Klasse A the following year. The level of success varied and the club won several leagues in the lower tiers over the next few decades. They moved to their current home in 1957, having previously played at Rijksweg. They had been known as RKVV Malden since the war at the behest of the Germans, however, this was changed back in 1961 and a new clubhouse opened in 1967 with a major renovation in 1981

In 1974, the club was promoted to the Hoofdklasse., today known as the Vierde Divisie, which is the fifth tier overall, or the second tier of amateur football. In the Netherlands, Saturday and Sunday teams are given equal billing and Juliana has teams in both. For the 2013/14 season, their Sunday side was promoted to the Topklasse, the third tier of Dutch football overall. Though they only lasted one season, this is the highest the club has reached in their history. Nowadays, their Sunday team play in the fifth tier whilst their Saturday team plays in the Derde Klasse, the eighth tier of Dutch Football. More specifically in the East Region, Group A.

I hope that this is generally accurate, however, information was obtained from multiple sources and the terminology for various divisions varied depending on the source. There were also some gaps in the history and some questionable translations, but I hope I have done the club justice.

MY VISIT

As with my last period of time off work, I was determined to enjoy my last bit of time off until March. As with last time, due to how dreadful UK Sundays are, it would have to be abroad. Just as with Belgium, the Netherlands had a wealth of fixtures on, especially compared to the pitiful scraps that are left back home. Normally, I'd not care as Saturdays are brilliant and I get them off and although it is unpleasant, I miss very little in the way of games on Sunday when working. The flights were very easy to organise, a bargain £36 return from Stansted as opposed to the £140 one way that Eurostar appeared to be asking. It was not all good news though as the parking was an extortionate £50 for a few days, but at least it could be cancelled if I found a better way and right by the airport. However, no better option came up and so I'd have to stick with it. Another kicker was the 02:15 start to get to the airport, although if I wanted to make the most of the day, it was needed so I could get an early flight.

Organising my evening games was a piece of cake, with the Eredivisie well publicised and information easy to find. However, further down the leagues in the Netherlands, things got a little more confusing. The divisions had confusing names such as 1A, 2B etc. However, a visit to Wikipedia helped explain this more and as expected, it was regionalised, only without being named as such. There was also confusion when I saw that my choice for my first game on Saturday were listed on Soccerway as playing on Sunday. For a moment I thought that the wrong fixtures had been loaded into Futbology, however, my fears were unfounded as they also had a Saturday team too. I was reassured by the Hollandsevelden website, although this had a huge list of games, it appeared not to offer kickoff times which was a bit of a pain. Thankfully, Juliana appeared to have a pretty decent Twitter account which announced their games and so it would be nice to see a confirmation on the day.

It was a 2.15am awakening on the day, but I wasn't tired. In fact, I awoke early although I did use to get up at that time for work, so I was well practised. I wasn't especially in a rush as I'd allowed plenty of time. I left home just before 3 and arrived at my pre-arranged parking at 4.05. It was then around 15 minutes walk to the terminal. Security was thorough but completed within a reasonable time frame and was friendly. Once through, I had a pint of Stowford Press in Wetherspoons and also got some Irn Bru from WH Smith. Soon enough, it was time to board my flight leaving at 6.20. Once we arrived, security was cleared pretty quickly and after getting a bus and two trains, I was in Nijmegen by 10:25. The fare was reasonable at £18ish, though maybe I could have saved more by buying an OV chipkaart. 

Once I was in Nijmegen it was a slow meander into town. I went to Jumbo Supermarket for Crisps and a drink. I was fancying a drink now and I'd already earmarked a decent-looking place called Cafe Samson. There I had bottles of Elegast Farmhouse and UWE Awesome Blossom. Neither club had shown much enthusiasm about the game on their Twitter account, so it was fingers crossed for the game going ahead. I dropped my bag off, although my room was not yet ready. In my haste, I left my earbuds (which were playing up anyway, so I was open to getting another pair) and camera behind although I could make do. On reflection, I'd have gone straight to the ground as the transport links were not the greatest between room and ground. Even so, it was a very pleasant and quiet walk. I used the convenience of Mcdonald's along the way. The strange pricing structure meant that the mediocre fries were more expensive than the excellent chilli chicken burger and nuggets. All in all, with a drink it was around 7.50 so not bad. From there it was to the ground. After a quick look in the bar, I took my place, and entry appeared to be free. I spoke to a German hopper who was also over for the game.

 VV Veenendaal had travelled around 50km or 31 miles to today's game, being located in the province of Utrecht. The hosts had lost their opening game, being beaten 2-1 at home by WAVV Last week their game at Advendo 57 was cancelled due to a car accident on the way to the game, however, thankfully, no one was hurt. Veenendaal had played twice, losing 3-2 on opening day at SV De Braak but beating JVC Cuijk 4-0 at home last week. The first half didn't see many great chances although Veenendaal had most of the attacking play. The second half saw Juliana have a real go, peppering the visiting goal and forcing the keeper into some good saves. It was Veenendaal however that broke the deadlock, heading home from a left-sided corner on 65 minutes. That was how it stayed, despite both sides having chances to score.

THE GROUND

DE BROEKLANDEN is a decent venue. It's part of a wider sports complex with several pitches used by the club. The main pitch has a 3G surface and a decent stand, capable of housing a few hundred. There are also a couple of smaller uncovered seated areas and the pitch has hard standing all around. It's well kept too. The bar has a basic range of drinks and also offers snacks. Otherwise, the ground appears to be in a quiet area with not much around it.