Portugal

Primeira Liga

Saturday 4th March 2023

Kick Off 15.30 On Time!

Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia 0 F.C. Vizela 3, attendance 1,815

15’ 0-1

42’ 0-2

83’ 0-3

@ Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota

Rua Dom Bosco

2765-437 Estoril

€18 Admission

No Programme.

The walk up from Monte-Estoril station to the ground took about twenty minutes, not helped by being uphill all the way. At least on arrival the ticket office is at the near end of the stadium. Only the two sides of the ground are used, so although capacity is listed as 8,015, there are far fewer seats actually available, not that getting in here would be a problem for most games. The changing rooms/club buildings are at the one end, whilst the other goal end is draped in adverts and probably only used when one of the big clubs visit. We opted for seats in the main stand, which is the only part of the stadium that is covered.

The match was 15th versus 12th in the league table. It is easy to see why Estoril are hovering just above the relegation zone. They never looked capable of getting anything from this and it was very comfortable for the visitors. They opened the scoring after fifteen minutes, finishing from close range, after a pass across the six yard box was deflected and fell perfectly for the striker to fire home. The second goal came three minutes before halftime, breaking quickly after defending a corner and as the ball was played into the box it was diverted into the net by a home defender trying to cut out the cross. It could have been worse for the hosts, but Vizela only managed to add a third goal seven minutes from time. A one-two saw the striker played clear and he cut inside before smashing the ball across the ‘keeper into the far corner.

The walk back down the hill to Alcântara-Mar station was much easier than it had been on the way up! The fare back to Cais do Sodre station cost €2.45 and took around 35 minutes, before a short walk back into the centre of Lisbon.

Portugal

Liga 2

Saturday 4th March 2023

Kick Off 11.00 Actual 11.02

Sport Lisboa Benfica 0 Uniao Desportiva Vilafranquense 2, attendance 347

75’ 0-1

86’ 0-2

@ Benfica Campus Pitch 1

Rua Sport Lisboa e Benfica

2840-600 Seixal

€5 Admission

No Programme.

This morning’s trip was made by taking the metro system to Cais do Sodre, before catching the ferry south across the River Tagus to Seixal. The crossing time is 20 minutes and costs €2.45 and once there it was a ten minute walk up to the Benfica Campus, with the game being played on the main stadium pitch, which has an all seated capacity of 2,720. Tickets are purchased from the ticket booth at the entrance.

The match was 13th versus 5th in the league table and was pretty low key. The only real chance of the first half saw Benfica miss a one on one chance that the ‘keeper saved with his legs. The second half opened up a little and the longer it went on, the more likely the visitors looked like they might nick it. They finally made the breakthrough with fifteen minutes left, cutting in from the right, before curling a left footed shot into the far corner from 25 yards. They deservedly doubled their lead with four minutes left, finishing left footed off the inside of the far post from the angle of the 18 yard box, after a ricochet fell perfectly for the striker.

I intended to do another match this afternoon. Unfortunately the return ferry times on a Saturday are not great, as they are only two hourly and were at 13.00 or 15.00. There was no way of making the one o’clock one, without missing the end of the match (it didn’t bother the 5 German hoppers present, who had already left the match before the second goal was scored) and the 3 o’clock crossing would be too late. An Uber was pre-booked instead, picking up at the ticket office, where it cost €18 (including toll) taking us back across the river to Alcântara-Mar, from where we caught the train (€1.95) westward to Monte Estoril, arriving 70 minutes before kick off for what would be game two of the day.

Portugal

Liga 3

Group B

Friday 3rd March 2023

Kick Off 19.00 On Time!

F.C. Alverca 2 Real Sport Clube 1, attendance 300

39’ 0-1

71’ 1-1

90’ + 7, 2-1 (pen)

@ Complexo Desportivo F.C. Alverca

Rua Cesar Augusta Goncalves Ferreira

2615-391 Alverca do Ribatejo

€4 Admission

No Programme

Another trip to Portugal, heading out on the 10.10 EasyJet flight (left 28 minutes late) from Gatwick to Lisbon. It was a late planned trip, not helped by the fact that the breakdown of fixtures for the top two levels were not announced until late on Sunday evening! This is absolutely pathetic, especially when considering the three biggest clubs in this country can pull in crowds of 50,000 for home games. Anyway, tonight wasn’t really a problem, as I knew a week ago that third tier Alverca were scheduled to play this evening, but the rest of the weekend was not so easy to plan for, but in the end it appeared to look very promising. It was also possible to do the trip without hiring a car, as all the intended games were doable by public transport.

Alverca do Ribatejo is north east of Lisbon and is just a 19 minute train ride from Santa Apolonia station. It was only 8 stops, but was a very reasonable €2.45 return. The scheduled 1720 train left six minutes late, but with the walk from station to ground being just fifteen minutes, it wasn’t a problem. Tickets were easily obtainable too, with the ticket office located in the corner as you walked towards the ground entrance.

Alverca were formed in 1939 and spent most of their time in the lower levels of Portuguese football, but in 1998 they made it into the top division, playing four of the next five seasons there (I saw them draw 1-1 away at Os Belenenses in Nov 2001) and despite being promoted again for the 2003/04 season, they were relegated again at the end of that season, playing one more season at level two, before folding in 2005 due to financial issues. They were reformed the following year, playing at district level, but they were promoted back to national league level at the end of 2017/18.

The stadium is an all seater, with a 7,705 capacity and looks as though it had some sort of track around the pitch at some point (the players enter from a tunnel below ground, behind the goal to the right, which judging by its position, certainly backs up this theory). Only two sides of the ground are in use these days. Home fans are in the two tiered main stand, which has the only cover on offer, whilst the visitors get a section behind the goal to the left.

Alverca came into this game as league leaders, whilst the visitors were eighth. Neither side looked capable, or even interested, in scoring, in a very cagey first half, but it all changed when Real opened the scoring six minutes before halftime, finishing with a speculative long range effort that swerved away from the ‘keeper and into the far corner of the net. Alverca had to come out of their shell in the second half, which made for a much better game, especially watching as a neutral. They drew level with nineteen minutes left, poking in from eight yards, after a shot from the edge of the box was half blocked by a defender. They pushed for a winner, but looked to have fallen short, before a very soft looking penalty was awarded to them seven minutes into stoppage time, which was duly dispatched to give them a win that sees them move up to third place in the league table.

The first train back in to Lisbon after the game was scheduled for 21.28, but left a couple of minutes late.

Gloucestershire County League

Tuesday 28th February 2023

Kick Off 19.30 On Time!

Stoke Gifford United 7 Hardwicke 0, attendance 39

35’ 1-0

37’ 2-0

43’ 3-0

45’ 4-0

62’ 5-0

71’ 6-0

90’ + 1, 7-0

@ South Gloucestershire & Stroud College, WISE Campus 3G Pitch

New Road

Stoke Gifford

BS34 8LP

£3.30 Admission (minimum car park charge)*

£1 Programme (apparently available in the changing rooms, but no effort to come round and sell them).

* I knew that car parking was enforced by ANPRC cameras here, as I had visited twice before, with the minimum charge of £3.30 required to cover the match duration. In September 2011 I saw Bristol Academy beat Thornbury Town 2-1 in a Gloucestershire County League match, which was played on the pitch inside the athletics track, then in October 2018 I saw Bristol City U18 beat Coventry City U18 5-1 in a Professional Development League match, which was played on a grass pitch to the south of tonight’s game. Bristol City U16 actually played on the 3G that day. A seated kit stand has now been added, along the only side accessible to spectators, whilst there are dugouts on the far side.

The match itself was 4th versus 13th in the league table and up until the first goal was evenly matched. A left footed effort into the far corner ten minutes before halftime signalled the total collapse of the visitors. By halftime it was 4-0 and the second half was a bit of a non-event, even though the hosts added three more goals to coast to an easy 7-0 win.

Had the usual shenanigans on the way home. M4 closed from J14-J13 and M25 closed from J11-J9.

Hampshire Premier League

Senior Division

Saturday 25th February 2023

Kick Off 14.00 Actual 14.07

Whitehill & Bordon 0 Colden Common 3, attendance 68

9’ 0-1

73’ 0-2

87’ 0-3

@ Bordon & Oakhanger Sports Club

Bolley Avenue

Bordon

GU35 9HG

No Admission or Programme.

Apparently, Whitehill & Bordon were given special dispensation from the league to use this ground following their promotion this season. I’m not sure why it doesn’t meet the criteria to host games here though, as it is a far better set up than many grounds at this level. Anyway, they have only got a handful of home games left here this season, so it seemed as good a day as any to visit. It also helped that the visitors were top of the league, defending the title they had won last season, whilst the hosts were sitting in seventh place.

It nearly didn’t happen though. I arrived just under an hour before kick off and shortly afterwards the two teams came out and began their warm ups. Ten minutes before kick off it became apparent that the referee hadn’t arrived. Quite why it took until this time for the home club to do anything about this is beyond me. Frantic phone calls were made, but he/she were unable to be contacted. Sensibly, in the end it was decided that a home ‘club official’ would do the game, although Colden Common didn’t seem happy about it, reluctantly agreeing that the game could go ahead. To be fair to the stand in, he was excellent and anyone arriving for the game would never have known he wasn’t the official appointment. Watching from a neutral perspective, I thought he did superbly and told him so at halftime.

Colden Common opened the scoring inside ten minutes, finishing a cross from the right with a stooping header at the far post. It was a very even contest throughout, but the visitors were just too strong. The killer second goal came seventeen minutes from time, when another cross from the right was finished with a tap in at the far post. The scoring was rounded off when they added a third in the dying minutes, when what looked to be a mishit attempt at pulling the ball back across the box, beat the ‘keeper at his near post.

The win sees Colden Common remain three points clear, with a game in hand, over second in the table Locks Heath. This completes the top division for me now, leaving just Division 1 side Hook for the full set.

Eastern Counties League

Division 1 North

Friday 24th February 2023

Kick Off 19.45 Actual 19.48

Heacham 2 Swaffham Town 1, attendance 298

6’ 0-1

41’ 1-1

45’ 2-1

@ Heacham Playing Fields

Station Road

Heacham

PE31 7HF

£5 Admission

£2 Programme, 32 pages.

Heacham are very much a club on the up, having only been promoted from the North West Norfolk League in to Division 5 North of the Anglian Combination League for the 2016/17 season, where successive promotions now sees them make their debut at Step 6. Their stay here may be a short one. They currently sit top of the table (P25 W18 D3 L4) on 57 points, having played a game fewer than Framingham Town (56 pts) and Harwich & Parkeston (53 pts). Even fourth placed Downham Town are still very much in with a shout of promotion, only five points behind Heacham, but with a game in hand.

Tonight was the first game under the newly installed floodlights. The ground is very much a work in progress, with two sides still to have hard standing laid, but it is progressing nicely. Unfortunately, as nice as the seated stand looks, it is totally useless, as it is set well back from the pitch and there is no restriction to prevent people standing along the rail in front, so the view from it is dreadful. There is also an angled area of cover in front of the clubhouse. Organisation for their big day was very good though. Plenty of helpers directing the car parking, ample programmes and a mobile food wagon in place. The crowd was only a couple short of 300, which included a fair number of ‘hoppers dotted about.

Swaffham Town came in to this 17th (out of 19) in the league table, but they certainly made the leaders work hard for the 3 points. It was quite a surprise that it was the visitors who went in front just six minutes in, smashing one high into the net after a corner wasn’t cleared. Heacham pressed for an equaliser, but it didn’t arrive until four minutes before halftime, when an angled cross into the box seemed to deceive the ‘keeper, sailing over his head and dropping into the far corner. It didn’t take long before they turned things round and they edged in front right on halftime, when a poor kick by the ‘keeper, coupled with a slip by a defender attempting a tackle, saw the striker control the ball and finish with a shot into the far corner. The second half kept the interest, but neither team really threatened to add to the scoring.

The journey both ways was littered with delays, adding 90 minutes to the drive time. The SatNav diverted me via the Blackwall Tunnel going, due to an accident on the opposite carriageway near the Dartford Crossing that caused big tailbacks. The return saw closures of the M11 just south of the A11, followed by the M25 being closed between J2 and J3. Just for good measure the exit at J8 was also closed, which meant exiting at J6 and taking the countryside route home. Oh the joys of hopping midweek games.

Portugal

Primeira Liga

Monday 20th February 2023

Kick Off 19.00 Actual 19.01

Grupo Desportivo Chaves 2 Sporting Clube Portugal 3, attendance 4,981

8’ 0-1 (pen)

54’ 1-1

61’ 1-2

70’ 1-3

90’ + 6, 2-3

@ Estadio Municipal Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira

Avenida Estadio 103

5400-265 Chaves

€35 Admission

No Programme.

Today we left Spain and headed back in to Portugal for the final game of our trip. The 254 miles from Burgos to Chaves took 3 hours 40 minutes, but we gained an hour back as we crossed the border about 10 miles before reaching our destination, due to the time difference between the two countries. Of all the games we were planning on watching, this was the one we thought may be problematic, as far as getting tickets went. The club never replied to an e-mail, although a work colleague (speaks Spanish, but understands Portuguese) of the driver had spoken to the club by phone and had been assured there would be no problem buying tickets on the day, which was finally confirmed on the ticket page of the club website, but not until after we had booked our flights! We drove straight to the ground, having timed it perfectly (closed for lunch from 13.00-14.00) to catch the office open. Unlike yesterday, all went to plan and within two minutes of pulling in to the car park, we had our tickets.

Chaves are not one of the big clubs in Portugal. Their only honours since their formation in 1949 are two Segunda Liga titles (2008/09 and 2012/13) and they were also runners-up in the Taça de Portugal in 2010, having lost 2-1 to Porto in the final. Sporting Clube, on the other hand, are very much one of the ‘big 3’ here, behind Benfica and Porto. They have won the Primeira Liga 19 times, the Portuguese Cup 17 times, as well as 4 League Cup wins. Their sole European trophy was a U.E.F.A. Cup Winners’ Cup back in 1964.

The Estadio Municipal Engenheiro Manuel Branco Teixeira, famous as being the ground where Cristiano Ronaldo made his international debut for Portugal, is a mixture of old and new. The capacity nowadays is 8,396 which might have been tested if Sporting Clube weren’t having such an indifferent season, down in fourth place in the league table, way off Benfica and Porto and even trailing third placed Braga by 11 points coming into this. They still had a decent following though, with supporters dotted about the ground, despite having a designated away section behind the goal at the far end.

Chaves came into this in eleventh place in the table and should comfortably avoid being dragged in to any relegation battle. They didn’t get off to the best of starts here though, conceding a penalty after just eight minutes. Sporting nearly doubled their lead, but a cross from the left was smashed against the crossbar from close range, then before the half hour mark they had a chance to draw level, but the one on one chance ended with the Sporting ‘keeper saving the shot with his legs. The equaliser came just minutes later when a speculative effort from the corner of the 18 yard box seemed to deceive the ‘keeper and went in at the far post. It looked like the hosts had gone in front right on halftime, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The second half was much more comfortable for the visitors. They had a goal disallowed for offside themselves, but soon regained the lead with a cracking effort curled into the far corner from 20 yards. It was soon 1-3, when a cross from the right beat the ‘keeper at his near post via a possible deflection. It could have been 1-4, but having been awarded a second penalty, Sporting this time missed, when it was saved by the Chaves ‘keeper. Six minutes into stoppage time Chaves pulled it back to 2-3, heading a cross back across the ‘keeper for a header that went in off the far post, but the final whistle went immediately after the restart.

We had covered 842 miles on our tour of Iberia. The return flight from Porto back to London Gatwick on Tuesday lunchtime left dead on time and back in Blighty for 14.20. Another successful trip!

Spain

Segunda Division

Sunday 19th February 2023

Kick Off 18.30 Actual 18.32

Burgos C.F. 1 Albacete Balompie 1, attendance 10,832

78’ 0-1

90’ + 3, 1-1

@ Estadio Municipal El Plantio

Calle del Dos de Mayo

09006 Burgos

€15 Admission

No Programme.

The 110 mile drive east from León took around 1 hour 40 minutes, so we were parked up very close to the stadium shortly after 15.30. We already knew the ticket office didn’t open until 5 o’clock, so headed off into the town for food. When we arrived back at the ticket office a small queue had formed, so we joined it about twenty or so from the front. The window shutters opened and people began to move. Then a lad appeared from inside the exit gate adjacent to the booth and pinned a notice up. It wasn’t good news. Apparently the game was sold out! There had been no indication of this on their website and when checking beforehand we had no concerns whatsoever. Why would we? The ground holds 12,194 and their average gate is only around 6,500-7,000. It wasn’t as if it was a local derby (Albacete is 300 miles away) or even a top of the table clash, as it was 7th versus 6th in the league table.

Anyway, we were suddenly faced with a problem, as we certainly couldn’t get to any other game now. We spoke to the lad, who confirmed all tickets had gone. Apparently there had been some sort of ‘promotion’ and all tickets were sold out on Monday. What about getting a ticket in the away section? He informed us that if we came back at six o’clock there may be a possibility of getting a ticket then, but no guarantee. Was this just a way to get rid of us? We went to the club shop. No intention of speaking to us, let alone helping us out. We tried the VIP entrance, where a girl had a huge pile of tickets in her hand, but no chance, even if people didn’t turn up. We even offered her cash for a ticket, but not a chance!

We returned to the ticket office about ten to six. There was one person at the window, being served by the lad we had spoken to. He glanced up, nodded to us and smiled. Was this good news? Yes….we could indeed buy a ticket in the away end, but only by bank card. No cash. Not a problem. We were sorted. Despite him helping us out, it gave me a reason to hope Burgos lost the game. We were in with the visitors anyway, so why not?

Again, the game was nothing to write home about. The view wasn’t great, but better than no view at all. There wasn’t that much action to see anyway. Burgos looked to have had a man red carded midway through the first half, but it was overturned by V.A.R. Albacete had a great chance to open the scoring in the last minute of the half, but it was cleared off the line by a defender. In stoppage time a red card was shown to someone on each bench following a bout of pushing on the touchline. Albacete looked to have won it when they opened the scoring with twelve minutes left, chesting down a diagonal cross from the left, before smashing it past the ‘keeper from 6 yards. Three minutes into stoppage time Burgos got the equaliser. A ball in from the right was finished with a thunderbolt into the far corner from just inside the angle of the 18 yard box.

We got chatting to the lad sat next to us. It turned out he was Austrian and was in Spain for work. He had been behind us in the queue and had heard our conversation about the tickets and decided to shadow our movements as we seemed ‘to know what we were doing’. Thankfully, we did! And, as for the game being sold out, I suppose you could say it was, if you ignore the fact that there were still 1,362 empty seats!

Spain

Primera Division R.F.E.F. Group 1

Sunday 19th February 2023

Kick Off 12.00 On Time!

Cultural y Desportiva Leonesa 0 Algeciras C.F. 1, attendance 3,508

47’ 0-1

@ Estadio Municipal Reino de Leon

Avenida Del Ingeniero Sáenz de Meira

24009 Leon

€15 Admission

No Programme.

From our overnight stay in Lugo we headed further east into Spain today, for what we hoped would be the first of two games, starting with a level three match. The 138 mile drive took around two and a half hours, the early part of which was in foggy conditions with temperatures only a few degrees above freezing. The Galician Massif mountain range offered a very scenic backdrop, with it’s snow covered peaks, but as we got nearer to León the temperature was rising nicely and it was glorious sunshine by the time we parked up a couple of hundred yards from the stadium, which is on the left hand side as you exit from the motorway and head towards the town.

The Estadio Municipal Reino de Leon was opened in 2001 and has an all seated capacity of 13,451. They never get crowds anywhere near filling it these days, although their record crowd here is actually 105 more than the current limit, for a visit of Barcelona ‘B’ back in May 2017 and Spain have also hosted three international games here. Despite being a newish build it does have traditional pylon style floodlights. To say they are magnificent, is doing them an injustice. For those of us who like these sort of things, they are up there with the very best and not just in Spain!

We headed straight for the ticket office and purchased two seats behind the goal, with the ground segregated into four sections. Although the seats were allocated, there would have no problem in sitting wherever you wanted and you were free to wander around at will. The match was 8th versus 15th in the league table, with neither side having been in the greatest of form coming into this. Goal scoring opportunities were at a premium, especially from the home side, who were really poor. The only goal came two minutes into the second half, when a cross from the right was met with a downward header at the far post to win it for the visitors. There was no obvious sign of any visiting fans to greet the goal, but perhaps not surprising for a noon kick off some 530 miles from home, as Algeciras borders Gibraltar, on the southern tip of Spain. Ten minutes later they nearly added a second, but having broken clear they were unable to convert a one on one chance with the ‘keeper. I don’t recall Leonesa troubling the visiting ‘keeper once as they never created anything remotely describable as an attempt on goal.

We were back on the motorway less than ten minutes after the final whistle, heading further east for a second tier match in Burgos.

Spain

Segunda Division

Saturday 18th February 2023

Kick Off 16.15 Actual 16.17

Club Deportivo Lugo 0 Sociedad Deportiva Eibar 2, attendance 2,786

40’ 0-1 (pen)

90’ + 2, 0-2

@ Estadio Anxo Carro

Avenida dos Deportes

27004 Lugo

€20 Admission

No Programme.

We could have done a couple of second level Portuguese games today and maybe even added a third level one, if games finished promptly. However, as I wouldn’t be contributing towards the driving, we went with just one game instead, heading north east across the border into Spain and it would certainly make for a more relaxing drive on Sunday, where we had a planned brace of matches even further east. It was just over 3 hours drive to cover the 170 miles from Barcelos to Lugo, not helped by a section of motorway being closed for roadworks, which meant a diversion on local roads for a small section. Spain is also one hour ahead of Portugal as far as time goes, but we had already factored that into our journey time, arriving in Lugo around two hours before kick off. Again the weather was glorious, hitting 25 degrees as we parked up in the near deserted car park at the foot of the hill leading up to the stadium. There was a Lugo youth team (looked about 14 or 15 years old) game going ahead on the 3G ground adjacent to the main stadium, which judging by the signage, was, or is, home to a local non-league club. We watched about ten minutes of this, in which time the visiting team scored three goals, before heading to the ticket office to purchase our tickets.

The Estadio Anxo Carro has an all seated capacity of 7,114 which includes a temporary looking stand at one end. Considering they have such a small ground, which they struggle to fill, they have managed to maintain their position in the second tier of Spanish football since they gained promotion at the end of the 2011/12 season, although that run could be coming to an end, as they came into this second bottom in the table. Eibar were fifth, just three points behind league leaders Las Palmas and very much in the battle for the championship.

Despite a mishit cross clipping the top of the crossbar, as well as missing an open goal following a corner to the far post, Lugo offered little to suggest they can avoid the drop at the end of the season. When Eibar went in front from the penalty spot five minutes before halftime, it looked to be an all too familiar situation for them. Following the goal, Eibar had an effort that hit the post, followed by one off the underside of the crossbar, but Lugo were thrown a lifeline when Eibar had a man red carded in stoppage time, dismissed following a V.A.R. review. Despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half, Lugo never looked like getting back into it. The visitors finally made the points safe when they doubled their lead two minutes into stoppage time, cutting in from the left, before smashing an unstoppable shot into the far corner.