Spain

Segunda Division

Sunday 18th February 2024

Kick Off 18.30 On Time!

Sociedad Deportiva Huesca 0 Sociedad Deportiva Amorebieta 0, attendance 5,630

@ Estadio El Alcoraz

Finca C. Ensenanzas Integradas

22004 Huesca

€15 Admission + €2 booking fee, Print at Home ticket

No Programme.

It was only 152 miles south east from Irun, in Gipuzkoa, to Huesca, in the region of Aragon, but it took just over three and a quarter hours to drive, as the last hour or so was non motorway and very arduous, but with some absolutely beautiful scenery. Again, tickets had been purchased online, but we arrived in ample time and could easily have picked up tickets at the stadium. We managed to park in a small side road/wasteland only five minutes walk away, following the lead of the locals, rather than try and park on the official car park.

The stadium takes its name after a battle that took place there in 1096 and was opened in 1972. In 2009, promotion to the Segunda Division resulted in extensive renovations and further work, following promotion to La Liga in 2018, now sees the ground with an all seated capacity of just over 9,000. That certainly wasn’t tested tonight, not helped by the visiting section behind the goal end to our left only having 24 fans in it! Not surprising though, as Amorebieta are rock bottom in the league table and it is just a matter of time before their relegation is confirmed.

Huesca came into this game in 16th place and would surely have looked at this as very much three points there for the taking. They didn’t take their opportunity though, in a game that was very poor. In fact, poor is probably being kind. It was absolutely dreadful. Nothing else to say. I didn’t even make a note of anything that barely resembled a real goal chance.

We stopped overnight in Huesca, less than 2 miles from the ground. It was a 200 mile drive back to Bilbao Airport on Monday morning, which took just under four hours and our 13.55 flight back to London Gatwick left about seven minutes late. Another successful trip. Some decent grounds, but not so good as far as the actual football went. Oh yes…plenty of driving too. Despite being a short stay, we still managed to clock up 790 miles.

Spain

R.F.E.F. Primera Division

Group 1

Sunday 18th February 2024

Kick Off 12.00 On Time!

Real Union Club 1 Real Club Celta Vigo ‘B’ 1, attendance 1,100

75’ 0-1

90’ + 5, 1-1

@ Estadio Gal

Patricio Arabolaza Kalea 2

20304 Irun

€15 Admission + €0.96 booking fee, Print at Home ticket

No Programme.

This morning we drove 3 hours east to the town of Irun, which borders France, where the Bidasoa River, that runs behind the Estadio Gal, forms the border between the two countries. Although now plying their trade in the third level of Spanish football, Real Union Club are steeped in history, albeit in their earlier days. They were formed in 1915 (merger of Irun Sporting Club and Racing Club Irun) and were founder members of La Liga in 1929, although they were relegated in 1932 and have yet to make a return to the top level of Spanish football. Although they have played 10 seasons in the Segunda Division, they have spent the vast majority of their time as a lower level club. They have won the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey) four times though, in 1913 as Racing Club, then again in 1918, 1924 and 1927 after the merger, as well as finishing as runners up in 1922. The days of winning trophies may be long gone, but they do currently have a famous owner, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, so perhaps the glory days might return….

The Estadio Gal has an all seated capacity of around 5,500 with just the goal end to the left (when looking from the main stand) being open to the elements, although not a problem today, as it was a glorious sunny day. We actually had seats in the stand opposite the main one, although there was no problem sitting anywhere on that side, or behind either goal, for that matter. We did sit at the open end for a while, where it was nice to be watching in just a tee-shirt, but a relief to get back into the shade after a while. Certainly not the sort of problem I’m faced with when watching football back in England during February!

The match was 13th versus 5th in the league table and certainly on the evidence of the first half, looked certain to finish goalless. A very drab first half had little of note, apart from Union hitting the post in stoppage time. The second half wasn’t that much better, but Vigo managed to break the deadlock with fifteen minutes left, shooting low into the far corner after a blocked effort rebounded perfectly to finish at the second attempt. From this point onwards the game deteriorated rapidly, as they decided to try and hang on for the win, cheating and rolling about after every challenge and time wasting at every opportunity. Thankfully, they didn’t manage to hold out and five minutes into stoppage time Union managed to grab an equaliser, when a cross from the left was only partially cleared and a shot from the edge of the box found the bottom corner.

We had parked alongside the river, behind the stand we had bought tickets for, but the ground was only accessible via the main stand side when we arrived, but we noticed that they were also allowing spectators to access via a ramp at the back of our stand as kick off approached. We had a real stroke of luck, as the gate remained open at the final whistle, saving us a walk around three sides of the ground and we were back in the car and on the road within minutes of the final whistle. Every little bit helps and as we had just over 150 miles drive to our next game, which was kicking off at 18.30, we certainly weren’t complaining.

Above : The outside of the stand by the river

Below : The view across the river to France from the same position.