GOSK Dubrovnik 0 NK Omis 2

Match 22/11/909 - Wednesday, 12 October 2011 - Croatia 3 South

GOSK Dubrovnik (0) 0
NK Omis (0) 2 The Number 10
Est. Att. 200

Entrance: Free
Programme: None
Mileage: 2/1,456 (from Hotel)
New Ground: 244 (36th Abroad)

Here we are on the Dalmatian Coast in sunny, but sometimes wind-swept, Dubrovnik. We’ve made our start on the old city with its fabulous history and spectacular beauty. But, for a football fan, there comes a time when the sightseeing can take a break because there is a match in town and a ground to tick off.

NK GOSK Dubrovnik play their football at the third level of the Croatian League, a level that is split into four divisions covering each compass point, Dubrovnik being in the south. They are a club that, one would assume from the record books, has seen better days, having previously played at levels higher as recent as 2005 and in 1997 not only finished seventh in the first division but also reached the Quarter Finals of the National Cup losing to Dinamo Zagreb over two legs after holding the capital side to a draw at their now humble stadium.

The opposing side on my visit to the Gradski Stadium, Lapad were NK Omis, a side based 16 miles south-east of Split, the home of Hajduk, the pride of the Dalmatian coast. Dubrovnik had made a decent start to their season and were sitting third in the league, whilst Omis were mid-table.

We had already seen bus stops decorated with the crest of Hajduk in Dubrovnik showing the affection for the club that is sited the best part of a four hour drive away, shades of Manchester United fans leaving Gillingham on a Saturday morning for a home match. We spoke to hotel staff about the Croatian national side’s upcoming European Qualifier against Latvia and was embraced with enthusiastic conversation but when we broached the subject of GOSK we were greeted with shakes of the head.

Not to be discouraged we left our hotel for the 4 o’clock kick off to make the 10 minute walk to ground with some vague directions that appeared relatively simple. When we got to a junction and a decision to turn left or right we were fortunate that a police car was parked, perhaps on the look-out for some of the infamous hooligans that blight Croatian football. We asked the officer in the passenger seat the way and he in turn needed to ask his fellow officer.

One little worry that we had was that the morning’s sightseeing had depleted our wallets of kuna, the local currency, surely it couldn’t be the equivalent of £15 each to gain admission we hoped. Walking towards the ground, it has to be said there was hardly the throng of people that would be associated with Toronto Road at 2.30 on a Saturday afternoon; in fact there was nobody that was obviously making their way to the football.

The ground came into view with a few people sitting along the top of the wall surrounding the ground. On reaching the gate we were taken aback to find that entrance was in fact free! There was a gate, even a table where they might have collected a fee but nobody to take it. Inside the ground at that time were probably no more than 50 people watching as the players of both sides were warming up. We walked towards the half-way line and positioned ourselves up on the same wall alongside a group of young girls, mainly because the wife had taken a liking to a little dog that she got to know was named Lulu.

The Gradski was quite run-down. The terrace on which we were sitting was six substantial steps high and behind the goal from where we had entered there was a similar amount of terracing that led to a sort of club house bar were a few sat and watched. This led to another, shallower, terrace down the length of the pitch leading to the dressing rooms perched atop the terrace behind the far goal. The view beyond this was the beautiful backdrop of the Dalmatian hills. Perhaps the most noticeable aspect of the stadium, which was essentially no better than Kent League, was the fact that in 2011 it continued to be fenced.

As the match got underway, the attendance had risen to around the 200 mark that observed the proceedings rather than got excited about either side. My own observations as to the standard of the play was initially that it was at a level equal to Ryman South, i.e. Faversham. The weather throughout the summer months is obviously very hot and we had been told that during the previous week temperatures had reached 35degC and this in October! This naturally leads to very hard pitches and a couple of challenges quickly brought the physio to the field.

Immediately noticeable was that passing was almost entirely enacted along the ground and that technically the players were pretty good, time to re-assess the standard upwards to perhaps Ryman Premier, i.e. Margate. Dubrovnik started the game well, looking the part of the higher-placed team, but slowly but surely Omis found their feet and eventually took the lead through their number ten. Sorry, there can be no names as there was no programme and not even a tannoy system, not that I would have understood anyway!

Omis’ number ten was a tall, rangy striker in the mould of a young Tony Cascarino, who was surprisingly good on the ground but caused a bit of derision needing the trainer three times in the opening half hour. It was inevitable that a well worked move ended with our Cas stroking home from inside the six yard box. After Cas had once again showed himself as the class act on show with an excellent strike from about 25 yards before taking another knock that left him a passenger for the last ten minutes, I engaged in conversation with a gentleman that had sat himself alongside me about 20 minutes after the game had begun.

I first asked him about the entrance fee, or lack of it. In good English he explained that they only charged if one of the Premier Croatian sides were in opposition, but for league matches, should they charge nobody would come. How do they survive was my next question. To this he explained that they received funding from the local council and local businesses. They were a community club that had age groups from nine years old to earn their funding, but you wouldn’t bank on Medway, or any other, Council following suit. My friend also explained that the players of Dubrovnik did get paid, albeit a very small amount, which made the lack of an entrance fee even more confusing. I was at the point where I really wanted to pay as the afternoon’s football had been entertaining and the conversation with my Hajduk-loving friend enlightening.

As the Dalmatian sun set and Omis left for Split with the three points we made our way back to our hotel content that we had enjoyed our foray into the lower reaches of Croatian football and not a kuna poorer!