The big Belgian kick off!

Less than three weeks since the World Cup final and the first competitive game of the season – in Belgium!
Yep me and Gordo were back on the road early on Saturday morning, fleeing the rain and gloom in the south east of England on the final day of July.
Cruising down to Folkestone, the weather got better and by lunchtime I was stocking up on French goodies at the massive Carrefour in Calais.
From Calais it’s only two hours to Brussels, a city that’s really starting to grow on me, really pretty, very understated and everyone’s very friendly.
We booked a great hotel, St Martin’s in the Park, but didn’t have a clue where it was and had to ask five or six people – but they were all over helpful, checking maps, finding the hotel on phones, drawing directions.
We dumped the car at a tube stop and hot-footed in to the buzzing Constant Vanden Stock stadion, and, after being refused entry to the Europa League game against Hamburg back in March, it was great to finally get tickets in our hands for this first game of the Jupiler League season.
I’d booked them online, for just 11 Euros each – that works out at under a tenner to stand on the terrace behind the goal and wave by purple and white bam bam at the Belgian champions.
Bizarrely, Anderlecht faced KAS Eupen, a team we saw back in March at Oostende in our last continental trip. So two Eupen away games in a row – I’ve now seen more of The Pandas on the road than Norwich this season!
The Eupen side held their own and just before the break took a surprise lead when Alex tapped home from inside the box after Anderlecht failed to clear a free-kick. It was just was just what the game needed.
To be fair it changed everything, Anderlecht came out after the break and equalised through Argentine Matias Suarez who volleyed home a corner from the edge of the penalty box.
Soon afterwards Anderlecht took the lead when Jonathan Legear headed home from precisely the same spot after a long cross from the right.
Suarez put the game beyond doubt when the gold-shirted Eupen keeper Olivier Werner palmed a corner straight at the feet of the home side’s number 9.
Late on a clever finish from Mbark Boussoufa after more poor Eupen defending made the final score 4-1.
So Anderlecht at top of the league after day one, and most of the 22,000 crowd went home delighted. Outside we left the packed bars behind, I swigged a quick Jupiler and we legged it back to the car, found the hotel and settled down in where else but the Hairy Canary pub for a couple of pints.
Having seen Eupen away twice, the Pandas are now on a list of home grounds to visit and with the whole trip costing around £75, I feel there’ll be many more trips to brilliant Brussels!