Damage in the Box!: RSC ANDERLECHT (Stadion Constant Vanden Stock)

Thursday meant crossing the border into another country, as a 2hr 45m train journey took us from Amsterdam to Brussels, the capital of Belgium.

The visit to Belgium was very brief and there wasn't really a chance to see anything of the city. One thing I can say though is Tin Tin seems to be rather popular!

The purpose of my visit was to see Anderlecht play Austrian side Stum Graz in the Europa league, but after contacting the club I was informed that I'd have to buy tickets on the day and the office shuts at 5pm.

Therefore after stepping off the train it was straight to the ground to try and procure said tickets. Upon arrival though, the ticket office was shut for an extended lunch hour. Oh dear. So it was off to a nearby supporters bar to wait for the ticket office to re-open and have a few beers but, whilst in there, the owner kindly sorted us with some tickets to save hanging around, so panic over!

Anderlecht is a Municipality of Brussels, situated around 2.5 miles from the city centre and its football team, Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht (to give full name) is the most successful club in Belgian football. Last season however they finished 3rd behind Genk and bitter rivals Standard Liege.

Pre-match was spent milling around the various supporters bars, where the welcome was very good, enjoying some beers and, in one particular bar, listening to some very dodgy songs on the jukebox. These ranged from Tony Christie to The Tweets, Yellow Submarine to My Way. There's no accounting for taste!

Onto the game itself and it was a very comfortable evening for the homesters, as Anderlecht went thorough to the last 32 knockout stages after they maintained their 100% record in the group stages.

Guillaume Gillet scored in the 23rd minute before late goals from Matias Suarez (74) and Tom De Sutter (81) ensured the win. This was after Sturm defender Ferdinand Feldhofer was sent off on the hour mark for his second bookable offence.

The only disappointing aspect of the evening was the fact that Anderlecht did not issue a programme for the game (they did provide me with a teamsheet). Maybe this highlights the general apathy of most clubs towards the Europa League.