E.F.L. Youth Alliance (Northern Section) Cup Final
Tuesday 3rd March 2026
Kick Off 13.00 Actual 13.02
Blackpool U18 2 Carlisle United U18 1, attendance 150
39’ 1-0
79’ 1-1
88’ 2-1
@ Common Edge Community Sports Village, 3G Pitch
Common Edge Road
Marton Fold
Blackpool
FY4 5FH
No Admission or Programme.
An early start this morning, blighted by the usual crawl on the M25 from J9 to J16, heading north to the southern outskirts of Blackpool, just east of Blackpool Airport and the 3G caged pitch at Common Edge Community Sports Village. It’s the standard set up, with spectator viewing on the whole of the near side, with dugouts opposite. Ample parking and entry via the main building, where toilets were available, but little else.
It was the northern section final of this competition, with the winners facing A.F.C. Wimbledon to determine the overall champions. We were thirty five minutes in before any real chances were created, with Blackpool lobbing the ball wide after being put through on goal, but it only took four more minutes for them to make the breakthrough, when a deflected cross from the right was swept in from six yards. Right on halftime Carlisle nearly levelled, following up a fumble by the ‘keeper, but hitting the post. They did grab an equaliser with eleven minutes left, when a through ball saw striker and ‘keeper race to the ball, with the challenge falling perfectly for a supporting player to lob into an empty net from 25 yards. Blackpool grabbed the winner with two minutes left, when a corner from the right was headed out to the edge of the box and returned with a volleyed shot that flew into the far corner.
Back on the road before 3 o’clock, heading south for the main event of the day…..
P.S. Olympic 2 Pelsall Villa Colts 2, attendance 64
20’ 0-1
36’ 0-2
39’ 1-2
45’ 2-2
@ The Dell Stadium, 3G Pitch
Bryce Road
Pennsnett
Brierley Hill
DY5 4NE
£4 Admission
No Programme.
A rare Monday night fixture threw up the chance to tick off yet another 3G cage, but at least this one is the regular home venue for the club, once again re-completing this division for me, rather than some random venue borrowed in order to catch up on fixture backlog. I’d seen Oldswinford play on the stadium pitch here back in 1991, with tonight’s game played on a pitch that runs parallel to it, backing on to the stand. Entrance is through the main building, where there’s a refreshment kiosk and toilets, with admission taken from a table set up as you exit to the pitch, which runs lengthways away from here and has the usual spectator area running along three quarters of one side.
The match was 4th versus 10th in the league table and was a game of two halves. All the goals came in the first half, with the visitors squandering a two goal lead. They broke the deadlock with an angled shot that was touched in from close range and doubled their lead with a shot on the turn from 20 yards, that the ‘keeper got a hand to, but couldn’t prevent the shot going in via the post. Six minutes before halftime, a speculative cross/shot from wide on the right sailed over the ‘keeper into the far corner to make it 1-2 and they levelled the scores in the dying seconds of the half, when a cross in from the right was touched in from 6 yards on it’s way into the bottom corner. Olympic hit the crossbar early in the second half and should have won the game a minute from time, when they were awarded a penalty, but it was well saved by the ‘keeper.
Journey up to the Midlands was trouble free, unlike the return. Access from the M42 onto the M40 was closed, meaning a diversion up to the next junction, adding about five miles. Three sections of single lane roadworks (no actual work taking place) were encountered on the M40, followed by closures on the M25 between J15 and J14 and again from J11 to J9.
This was the second time I’ve been here to see a Caddington home game. There are two parallel pitches here, separated by a cricket square. When I came here in March 1999 they played on the furthest pitch from the clubhouse, which had a small brick built shelter behind the right hand goal end and dugouts on the far side. The structures are still in place, but they now play their home matches on the near pitch and have done so since the mid 2000’s. It’s fenced on the clubhouse side, with dugouts on the near touchline and is roped along the far side, butting up to an artificial cricket wicket.
The match was 10th versus 17th (bottom) in the league table. Despite this, it turned out to be an excellent game, keeping the interest for the entire ninety minutes, helped by both teams adopting a ‘basketball style’ of play in a game that was constant end to end stuff from start to finish. Caddington opened the scoring after twenty one minutes, with a 30 yard free kick that found the bottom corner, which the ‘keeper should have done better with. Codicote levelled four minutes later, when a corner from the right was headed clear to the edge of the box and returned with a first time shot that went in off the post. Five minutes later the visitors went in front, when a deep cross from the right was finished with a cushioned volley back into the far corner.
The second half saw more of the same, with Caddington piling on the pressure, especially in the last fifteen minutes, desperately looking for an equaliser that just wouldn’t come. Some valiant defending from the visitors saw them see out the game and take all three points. They’re still bottom, having played three games more than those above them, but have closed the gap on Newport Pagnell Town Development to two points and are a further two adrift of third bottom Padbury Village.
It was a very good journey via M25 and M1 up to Bedfordshire, without a single hold up on the outbound route. The return was the usual crawl from M40 to M4 and again on the M3 approach. At least this league is now tidied up at last.
Below photo : The covered area still in situ on the former main pitch.
Antequera C.F. 0 Club Esportiu Europa 2, attendance 1,800
55’ 0-1
90’ + 7, 0-2
@ Estadio El Mauli
43a Avenida Del Alcade José Maria Gonzalez
29200 Antequera
€15 Admission + €1.98 Booking Fee, Print at Home Ticket.
No Programme.
From our afternoon game in Malaga it was a 26 mile drive north to Antequera, which took just over fifty minutes.Plenty of street parking available a couple of hundred yards from the stadium and inside around twenty minutes before kick off. It’s a two sided ground as far as spectator access goes, with nothing behind either goal. There’s a main stand that’s covered, flanked by sections of open seating, with the dugouts in front of the seats, sunken below ground. We chose to sit on the opposite side, which was open to the elements and had 17 steps, with the two nearest the pitch being just concrete, whilst the rest had bucket seating and despite having allocated seats, there wasn’t a problem sitting in any unoccupied ones. There are also proper traditional floodlight pylons too, set at the side of the pitch, rather than in the four corners.
This was our highest level game we’d be watching today, being level three of the pyramid. It was a game that had a bearing on the promotion places too, with 6th in the league table hosting 4th. There was very little of note to recall from a lacklustre first half, but the game improved dramatically once Europa broke the deadlock ten minutes after the interval, cutting in from the right before curling a left footed shot in off the far post. It certainly woke up the hosts, with the visitors sitting back, hoping to hang on to what they’d got. In a seven minute spell just after the hour mark, Antequera had a goal ruled out for offside, a shot cleared off the line, a long range effort that the ‘keeper made a mess of which just squirmed wide of the post for a corner and another long range shot that hit the post. With six minutes left they hit the post again, but never looked like grabbing an equaliser after that. Europa made the points safe seven minutes into stoppage time, chipping the ball to the far post before sending a header back into the bottom corner. The win sees Europa now go third in the league table, five points behind leaders Sabadell, whilst Antequera drop to ninth.
So, that brought down the curtain on another successful Iberian trip. Fantastic weather and all seven games planned were achieved and it was only about 450 miles driving to do so. Having stopped overnight in Antequera, it was about fifty minutes drive back south to Malaga on Monday morning, from where our 13.00 flight with Vueling, back to London Gatwick, left twenty three minutes late.
Atletico Juval 1 Union Manilva C.F. 1, attendance 39
25’ 0-1
89’ 1-1 (pen)
@ Campo de Futbol Pedro Berruezo
Calle Pintor Pepe Bornoy 4
29004 Malaga
€5 Admission
No Programme.
The 36 mile drive east along the coast from Estepona took just over 50 minutes, but despite arriving here an hour before kick off, it was nearly a case of having to drop this match from our schedule. We already had tickets for an evening game, so were working with a limited time window between matches and we had a problem here with parking, as the ground was in the middle of a residential area of tight streets and high rise buildings. We must have driven up every street in the vicinity looking for a space and just as we’d resigned ourselves to having to give up, a space appeared, just about big enough to squeeze in a vehicle. Luckily, it was only five or six minutes walk from the ground.
As with a lot of lower level games in Spain, it’s a 3G pitch, with spectator access limited to behind the near goal, where the refreshments (rolls done freshly to order) and changing rooms were and along the right hand touchline, where there was a covered stand, with concrete steps that were used for standing, rather than sitting on. The only problem was that the entire area had mesh netting in front and there was no option but to watch through it!
The match was 11th versus 3rd in the league table. It was no surprise to see the visitors take the lead after twenty five minutes, when a diagonal cross into the box was knocked down for a shot hammered low into the bottom corner. Despite dominating for long periods, they failed to get the all important second goal and were made to pay for it dearly, when Juval equalised with a penalty a minute from the end.
Club Deportivo Estepona 2 U.C.A.M. C.F. 0, attendance 2,100
58’ 1-0
71’ 2-0
@ Estadio Francisco Munoz Perez
272 Avenida de Juan Carlos I
29680 Estepona
€20 Admission
No Programme.
From our overnight hotel to the west of Seville, it was a 135 mile drive down to the southwest coastal resort of Estepona, which took around 2 hours 20 minutes, taking in views of Gibraltar en route. The Estadio Francisco Munoz Perez holds just under 4,000, with spectator access limited to three sides. Due to the heat, we chose to sit in the main seated stand, as it was the only part that offered shade, but it also offered the best backdrop of the hills too. Parking was in the streets, maybe 200 yards away, with the ticket office behind the main stand. Tickets were available online, but no problem buying on the day. There was a very good refreshment area at the back of the stand, with lots of very well known chocolate and sweets available, giving testament to the fact many Brits now living in Spain have adopted the club, with plenty of Union flags on view too.
The match was 16th versus 2nd in the league table. U.C.A.M. (Universidad Catolica Murcia) looked the better side early on, especially on the break, but Estepona had the majority of possession, but did little of note with it. Right on halftime a bad challenge saw a U.C.A.M. player red carded and two yellow cards dished out following the pushing and shoving that followed and for good measure, two red cards were also shown in the direction of the visitors bench. The second half was still evenly matched, despite the hosts having a man advantage. They made the breakthrough just before the hour mark, cutting in from the right, beating two defenders, then curling a shot into the far corner from just inside the box. They made the points safe with a second goal nineteen minutes from the end, with a left footed shot from just inside the box that gave the ‘keeper no chance.
Despite the win Estepona remain 16th (3rd bottom) in the table and U.C.A.M. now drop to third, five points adrift of leaders Aguilas, having played one game more.
Triaca 3 Club Deportivo San Jeronimo 1, attendance 40
8’ 1-0
23’ 2-0
32’ 2-1
49’ 3-1
@ Centro Deportivo San Pablo Futbol
Calle Tesalonica
41007 Sevilla
No Admission or Programme.
We’d already called in here on our way to the afternoon match, just in case timings had been a bit tight. They weren’t though and the game kicked off thirteen minutes late anyway, as a youth match taking place when we arrived had overrun its schedule. It’s a 3G pitch, with spectator access limited to one side, where there was a section of open metal benches, with the dugouts opposite, or you could choose to watch from behind one goal, where there were a few seats, but you’d be watching through mesh fencing. Nobody chose the second option! As you entered off Calle Tesalonica there was a refreshment area, which remained pretty busy throughout, with very reasonable prices, but it had no view of the pitch, whilst the changing rooms were to the left of here.
This was 7th versus 12th in the league table, in what is the ninth level of Spanish football. The hosts were ahead after eight minutes, with a shot from the edge of the box and double their lead fifteen minutes later, when a cross from the left was swept in from six yards. San Jeronimo pulled one back just after the half hour mark, heading in a diagonal cross at the far post. Three minutes before halftime Triaca were awarded a penalty. It had to be taken twice, due to infringements, with the San Jeronimo saving both kicks. Triaca made it 3-1 four minutes into the second half, when a blocked cross was returned with a curling shot from the angle of the 18 yard box that found the far corner of the net.
A 12 mile drive, which took 22 minutes, found us at our main game of the weekend, or at least a forty minute walk from the stadium! I’d visited Real Betis at their Estadio Benito Villamarin back in February 2006, seeing a 2-0 win versus Real Sociedad, but they are currently carrying out renovations there and will play home games at the 70,000 capacity Estadio de La Cartuja in the meantime. It was opened in 1999 and built to host the Athletics World Championships of the same year and it was hoped to play host to the Olympic Games too, but was part of a failed bid. It famously hosted the 2003 U.E.F.A. Cup Final between F.C. Porto and Celtic and it’s the largest stadium in Andalusia and the fourth largest in Spain.
There’s no car access anywhere near the stadium on match days, apart from VIP’s etc. hence the long walk, but it’s probably quicker on foot to exit the vicinity afterwards than it would be by car anyway, especially if there’s a big crowd present. From the outside the stadium is really underwhelming. It’s got more a look of an office block or residential building than a sports venue, but is absolutely superb once inside. The running track has now gone and the sight lines are excellent. Well, they certainly were from our seats in the top tier and we were pleased, purely by chance, to have opted for seats in the shaded area of the ground. It must have been sweltering on the far side, looking into the sun, as the temperature was edging towards the mid twenties! Tickets were easily booked online, although rather oddly, do not appear digitally until under 48 hours prior to kick off, which was a bit worrying, although it all turned out okay in the end.
It was 5th versus 17th in the league table and looked a good bet for Betis to pick up a valuable three points in their push to finish in a Champions League place, but lowly Vallecano deservedly held out for a draw. It might have been different had Betis played like they did in stoppage time, where they threw everything at the visitors, but sadly, that wasn’t the case. Betis opened the scoring after seventeen minutes, when Bakambu fired high into the roof of the net, after a cross from the right had been blocked by a defender, but fell perfectly for the shot. Isi Palazon grabbed the equaliser three minutes before halftime, side footing in at the far post from a cross from the right. It was met with a deathly silence, despite there being a few hundred away fans in the top tier behind the far goal. Having drawn level, they nearly took the lead in stoppage time, but hit the post with a free kick. Betis did very little for the remainder of the game, until we entered a ridiculous 14 minutes of added time, caused mainly by two lengthy VAR incidents, neither of which resulted in anything. They missed a point blank effort from six yards, which was maybe as much down to good goalkeeping as a bad miss and they did actually get the ball in the net after 100 minutes had been played, but it was ruled out for offside. The game finally finished at 18.17, exactly two hours after it had started. Luckily for us, game three was under four miles away….once we’d made the long hike back to the car.
It was about half an hours drive from our hotel west of Sevilla, to the town of Dos Hermanas, just southeast of the city. Pitch A4 is part of a multi pitch complex and has a dual aspect stand that has 344 seats. There’s no problem gaining access, although the security at the main gate only allow spectators into the site about half an hours drive before kick off. There’s a large car park and a cafe outside the security gate, where drinks and snacks are available, with a patio area with chairs and tables, enabling you to soak up the sun pre match. It was continually busy, as the other part of the complex, on the other side of the road, was hosting youth matches.
The match was 1st versus 7th in the league table and turned out to be an easy win for the hosts. They were in front after sixteen minutes and had added two more by the thirty sixth minute. Sporting Atletico looked like they might get back into it, when they pulled one back in the last minute of the half, but the comeback was short lived. They did hold the hosts out until the seventy first minute, when a ball down the left was finished with a low angled shot into the far corner, with a fifth goal coming four minutes later. A diagonal free kick, spilled by the ‘keeper and followed in from close range and a shot that went under the dive of the ‘keeper saw them add two more in the last nine minutes to round off the scoring.
Westwood Wanderers 4 Goring United 1, attendance 77
6’ 1-0
15’ 1-1
27’ 2-1
40’ 3-1
82’ 4-1
@ Denefield School, 3G Pitch
Long Lane
Tilehurst
RG31 6XY
No Admission or Programme.
The 3G pitch here at Denefield School is the regular home venue of Westwood Wanderers. It’s the standard cage set up with a designated spectator area along three quarters of one side, with a pair of perspex dugouts on the other.
The hosts came into this sitting second in the league table, a point adrift of leaders Wargrave, but with three games in hand, boasting a 100% winning record from their thirteen games played. It only took them six minutes to go in front tonight, breaking down the left and crossing for an easy finish from six yards. Goring levelled after fifteen minutes though, with an excellent free kick from 20 yards, that was bent outside the defensive wall, before flying inside the post. A corner from the right was played too long, but crossed back in for a tap in from six yards to put Westwood back in front after twenty seven minutes and they killed the game off five minutes before halftime, when they made it 3-1, with a low angled shot into the far corner. They eased off in the second half, but did add a fourth goal with eight minutes left, shooting low into the far corner.
