Spain
Segunda Division
Saturday 17th February 2024
Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.29
Real Sporting Gijon 1 Valladolid C.F. 1, attendance 21,130
27’ 0-1
51’ 1-1
@ Estadio Municipal El Molinon
Luis Adaro Ruiz Falco
33203 Gijon
€35 Admission + €1 booking fee, Print at Home ticket
No Programme.
We were on the 0830 (which left 33 minutes late) Vueling flight out of Gatwick, bound for Bilbao. It was to be a shorter trip than normal, as our only option last night would have been a level 5 game, on an artificial pitch, which we felt wasn’t worth paying an extra day for hire car and hotel and it was heading the opposite way that we wanted to go today anyway. Hire car was duly collected and there was plenty of time to head the 170 miles west along the north coast of Spain, with time to check in at our overnight hotel en-route, to the town of Gijon, in the Asturias region. The ground here was opened around 1908 and has been home to Sporting Gijon since 1917, undergoing a number of renovations over the years and also hosted group matches in the 1982 World Cup and currently has an all seated capacity of 29,371. It has four individual stands, which vary between two and four tiers, but has a continuous wrap around with all four corners filled in. We parked just off the first roundabout after exiting the motorway, parking in one of the residential streets, from where it was about 15 minutes walk to the stadium and ideal for a quick getaway after the match. Tickets had already been purchased, so ample time to grab something to eat in a tapas bar right next to the stadium.
The match was 4th versus 6th in the league table and attracted a crowd close on 4,000 more than their average attendance so far this season and a good atmosphere was produced from start to finish. I can only imagine what it must have been like at their last home game, which was a sell out for the visit of Real Oviedo in the Asturian derby. I was impressed by the turnout for the visitors today, although it’s probably one of their shorter trips (by Spanish standards) as it is only a three hour drive!
The game was end to end from start to finish. Both sides certainly came here with the intention of trying to take all three points. Valladolid opened the scoring just before the half hour mark, beating the ‘keeper from a tight angle at his near post and Gijon levelled six minutes into the second half, when the ball was cut back from the right and smashed first time low into the far corner.
Excellent game and stadium to start off our mini trip. It was an hours drive back east to our overnight hotel near Llanes, which would give us a bit of a head start for tomorrow’s first match.
