(20th – 21st March 2021)
Football with fans in attendance was well and truly back in this part of Spain by the third weekend of March and, I thought that it was about time I made a real effort to watch as many matches as possible over this particular weekend.
Spanish football is known for not having a traditional set kick-off time, with games typically being spread over Saturday evening, Sunday midday and Sunday evening, meaning that if you do your research and look to the lower levels, you’ll always have a plethora of games to choose from. My starting point for this weekend (as with most weekends) was looking on La Preferente (www.lapreferente.com), a comprehensive website that shows the fixtures, results, tables and team-sheets for all Spanish matches, including women’s, youth and junior age groups, which always throws up endless possibilities if you explore the depths of the site.
In these Covid times and, with Andalucía still having travel restrictions across provincial borders, I decided to keep myself local in the Marbella – Estepona area. This turned out to be a good decision with four senior matches able to be watched over the weekend, all having different yet suitable kick-off times.
I decided to dig a bit deeper though, as you’ll usually find that Juvenil (Under 19) matches are used as double-headers with senior games (on 3G pitches), meaning that I could watch a total of five games instead. I’ve worked in youth and academy football for the last four years, so I’m very accustomed to watching development matches but, I can understand why they’re not to everyone’s taste. No match is more valuable than another one in my opinion plus, the way in which age group football is ran in Spain is very different to that in the UK. I was intrigued to see how the quality and standard compared, which I may discuss in some detail during another article, since it was very interesting to observe some noticeable differences.
With five games to talk about in this piece, I’ve aimed to make the report on each game briefer than usual but, considering what was to happen during some of the matches, I’ve still got a lot to cover…
Saturday began with me hosting an online fitness session over zoom for Newhall United, a local club of mine back home in the Midlands. As the UK was preparing for the return of organised sport for the first time in the calendar year, I was doing what I could to help the team get fit and ready for the restart, starting off by doing some bedroom and garden based workouts.
Once the session was completed, I headed to the centre of Estepona for the afternoon and went onwards to Campo San Fernando Municipal, for my first taste of football for the weekend. CD Estepona’s B team were hosting CD Tolox in a 4:30pm league fixture, which was very convenient time-wise. On paper it looked like a mismatch, with the hosts flying high in the table and the visitors being at the bottom but, as is usually the case in these scenarios, the actual encounter proved to be closer than might have been anticipated.
The first real piece of action came after 22 minutes, which saw Estepona’s Fernando open the scoring by converting a right-wing cross at the far-post. Tolox almost got themselves back on level-terms shortly after, when José Miguel attempted a speculative effort from a long-range free-kick, trying to catch the host’s goalkeeper off his line. In the 41st minute the hosts doubled their lead, as Marwan tucked in a simple re-bound after Pascual ran through on goal. It remained 2-0 at half-time, with the home-side having the majority of the possession at that stage, although, the visitors continued to work hard off the ball to prevent further chances.
Marwan was able to score a further 2 goals (in 2 minutes) after the interval to complete his hat-trick, netting after 59 and 61 minutes in almost identical fashions, with the winger being on-hand to tap-in at the far-post, following a left-wing cross coming across the face of goal on both occasions. The visitor’s perseverance throughout the game was rewarded with ten minutes left, when youngster Dani skilfully worked his way into the box and struck a shot into the bottom left corner of the net. There was time for one more goal though, this time for the home-side’s Antonio Tineo, after a neat lay-off from a free-kick. 5-1 would be how the game finished and, after having a couple of drinks and snacks from the nearby Aldi, I was back on the terrace and ready for the next game to commence.
Estepona’s Juvenil side were hosting Vasquez Cultural B (from Marbella) in a Segunda Andaluza Málaga game. This is the third tier of youth team football in the region, which, by all means, is still a good standard and there was a healthy crowd (exceeding 200) in attendance for the tie. Both sides were around mid-table going into the game so I expected it to be close, particularly with this being a local derby.
The hosts had two early chances to break the deadlock but, they were to regret their mistakes shortly after, when the visitors took the lead in the 26th minute following a long-ball to Chaoib, who struck the ball between the keeper’s legs. On the stroke of half-time, Estepona’s Joquín raced through on goal for a second time, but his shot was well-saved low. We almost witnessed a bizarre goal in the second-half when the visitor’s saw a shot from around the half-way line saved by the host’s retreating goalkeeper, which then hit the post after it was parried away. The home-side were on top for much of the second period and really should’ve been awarded a penalty but, it wasn’t to be for them.
This encounter would have a very unexpected finish, when after 88 minutes played it took a bad turn. Estepona were reduced to 10 men only four minutes earlier and, following a number of late and reckless challenges from both sides, emotions were running high, leading to multiple players squaring up to each other and both managers running their mouths off. When the referee’s and linesman’s backs were turned whilst they were talking to the managers on the sidelines, all hell broke loose. Players, management and, even some fans got into a mass brawl on the pitch, lasting only for a short time before the sound of sirens filled the air and could be heard all around the ground.
Fortunately, no one appeared to be seriously hurt and the police escorted the visiting team off the pitch, at which point I made my way out of the ground. CD Estepona later issued a public apology about the incident and the 1-0 result stood but, it proved to be an eye-opener for me, as I didn’t know what to do in that situation.
Sunday started reasonably early and featured the only match of the weekend that I had purchased my ticket in advance, for a Segunda Division B midday kick-off between Marbella FC and RB Linense. The capacity for the game was 800 people and with the entry being half of what it’s typically been this season (at only €10), coupled with this being the final game of the first phase of the season, I thought that it’d be a sellout. There was a good (but tense) atmosphere before the match, as the pressure was mounting on Marbella and their head coach, Jose Manuel Aira, following poor results for much of the season.
The hosts began the game strongly and took an early lead through their talisman, Esteban Granero, after only 3 minutes played, following the ball falling to him on the edge of the box after a corner, which was dispatched into the top left corner on the half-volley. The first-half had few clear cut chances after the opening goal, but Marbella appeared to be on top as we headed towards the interval. We had the feeling that they’d need to be at least two goals up to secure the victory though.
The visitors responded well after the break and hit the woodwork in the 72nd minute, which saw the ball bounce out off the post and away to safety. Ten minutes later, Linense were finally able to draw level, when Pito Camacho moved past a defender on the left hand-side and struck a shot into the bottom left corner. Deep into injury-time at the end of the game, the away-side snatched a late winner through Coulibaly, to much jubililation from the travelling team and to the despair of Marbella’s players and fans. The full-time whistle blew almost immediately afterwards and the home fans were quick to vent their disappointment onto Aira, who ended up leaving his post only a couple of days after the match.
The sun was beaming down on us as we made our way towards the Marbella Centro stop, in order for us to catch the L79 bus which frequently connects Marbella and Estepona but, I wouldn’t be heading back to our usual stop with my dad. I opted to alight at San Pedro (de Alcántara), treating myself to a meal and a milkshake at Mr. Gourmet Burger in the town centre, before walking to UD San Pedro’s Estadio Municipal for their 5pm kick-off against Begijar CF, in what was their opening match of the second phase of the season.
There was a healthy crowd present for the encounter, with the prospect of the top two teams (out of six) gaining promotion to the Tercera División, although, only the stand behind the goal was open to the public due to ongoing refurbishment works taking place around the ground. Once it’s been completed, the venue will be more on par with the likes of Marbella FC and even CD Estepona in terms of facilities, with the concrete terrace blocks being fitted with seating and barriers. I’ll be gutted to see the ground lose some of its old-skool look, as it certainly has plenty of character, however, the change will be beneficial for the club no end.
The first-half was very even, with San Pedro having more of the play and chances on balance, though the visitor’s keeper had made a number of good saves. The only time that the hosts looked under threat was from their own mistakes, as they gave away needless fouls and lost possession too easily. The second-half continued in the same fashion as the first, with both teams showing their intent to take something away from the game. In the 88th Minute, when it looked as though we’d be destined for hard-fought 0-0 draw, San Pedro embarked on a promising passage of play down the left hand-side of the pitch and produced an inviting cross into the box, which Lucas was able to head into the net, to finally break the deadlock. The celebrations in front of the home fans were great to see and, after a tense period of added-time, the hosts held out for a smash and grab 1-0 victory.
I had two options available after this match, as I could’ve made the five minute walk round the corner to Nueva Andalucía’s Campo La Campana, for CDF Banús vs Oso CF at 7:30pm but, I chose to stay put at San Pedro to watch Marbella FC vs Granada CF B in a Juvenil Liga Nacional match, for my second youth team match of the weekend.
This was a league above the Estepona match I’d seen on the previous evening and the step-up in standard was definitely noticeable, as the game proved to be much quicker and more technical. Youth team football has more of an emphasis on results here, with Marbella FC wanting to get the three points towards their promotion push to the top tier Juvenil División de Honor. An impact of this is that every game appears to be very competitive and this one was no different.
The first-half ended with the score-line remaining goalless, despite a number of good chances for the visitors, with the tie looking as though the final result would depend on fitness levels, concentration and substitutions after the interval. The game became more open in the second-half and both teams were creating chances but, the visitors were the ones to make the break-through in the 57th minute, when the ball was squared to the centre of the box, giving a simple tap-in for Rubén Sánchez.
Marbella pushed back, producing a couple of chances over the next ten minutes, before a defensive mistake from Granada allowed Yannick to race through on goal and tuck a shot past their keeper. The hosts were able to complete the turnaround after 79 minutes played, when Aarón hit a long range strike into the bottom left corner, with Marbella being able to hold out during the remaining time for a hard-fought victory. I’m glad that one Marbella side had a positive result, quite ironically in the same way that the first team had lost earlier in the day.
I headed back into San Pedro and got home at around 10:30pm, feeling quite drained after a full-on weekend. I had to spend the Monday recovering from the side effects on my mind and body, however, it was a very enjoyable two full days of football that wasn’t without it’s drama.
So there it is, an easy five football matches watched in a weekend, without having to break a sweat, at a very cheap price (€18 admission total) and with simple journeys in-between. This was just a typical weekend in that part of the world as well, so hopefully it shows that there’s plenty of opportunity to watch some competitive and entertaining games at a variety of interesting grounds in southern Spain.
Keep your eyes peeled for further articles about the Costa Del Sol, albeit at a slower rate than I was producing them previously, although, hopefully they’ll help to entice and persuade you to book a trip to this wonderful region, once everything gets back to some form of normality at last…
Chris Sharp
(All photos are taken by me unless stated otherwise, please can you give me credit if you wish to use my photos)
The Travelling Therapist 