ABERGAVENNY TOWN (Pen-y-Pound Stadium)

WELSH LEAGUE DIVISION THREE, ABERGAVENNY TOWN 2-1 CAERLEON AFC, ATTENDANCE: 52 (h/c)

After watching a few games in sunny Spain the previous weekend, it was back to the reality of a cold and wet UK this Saturday. I scanned the fixture list looking for somewhere I could head where there was also a 3G pitch nearby, just in case things went awry.

One fixture that jumped off the page was a Welsh League clash between Abergavenny Town and Caerleon. Firstly because I remembered a fellow groundhopper headed there a few weeks ago when the weather was pretty grim and, secondly, the Pen-y-Pound Stadium was a ground that, for reasons unknown, has slipped under my radar over the years.

The Pen-y-Pound Stadium was the home of the legendary Abergavenny Thursdays (surely one of best names in Welsh football). Thursdays were formed in 1927 but folded in 2013, citing a lack of players as the reason for folding.

The club were champions of the Welsh League on four occasions, the last time in 1992 leading to the club being founder members of The League of Wales. Thursdays were relegated after one season in the top flight and thus began a downward spiral that saw the club end up in the Gwent League 3rd Division by the time they folded in 2013.

Across the town, playing in local leagues, were Govilion AFC. They won promotion to the Gwent League in 2007, quickly rising to the top division. When the club decided to seek promotion to the Welsh League, they ran into problems with their Parish Council regarding the upgrade of their ground so, when Thursday's folded, Govilion moved into the Pen-y-Pound Stadium.

The main stand, that is currently closed off. Speaking to a local
and he said it hasn't been used since Abergavenny's League of Wales days.

In 2014 Govilion changed their name to Abergavenny Town and stormed to the Gwent League Division One title, going the entire league campaign unbeaten, thus returning the name of Abergavenny to the Welsh League. The club also enjoyed a run in the FAW Trophy, reaching the Semi-Final before losing to eventual winners Holywell Town.

The club are also in the last four this year, where they will play Queens Park (from Wrexham) on the 19th March. Abergavenny are also in the mix of the promotion race, currently sitting in second place in the table, though some of the teams directly below them have games in hand.

Today Abergavenny were taking on Gwent rivals Caerleon, though that was not before a worrying moment before the game. The appointed referee failed to show but, after agreement with both clubs, a local referee stepped in to save the day.

The first half somehow ended goalless a both teams wasted numerous chances to break the deadlock. On the hour mark though a cross from the left, into the six yard box, hit Town striker Dan Jenkins on the shoulder and managed to beat the Caerleon 'keeper Gareth Wesson who only helped push the ball over the line. It was the bit of good fortune that was needed after all the sitters that had been missed!

Caerleon responded well and had their chances to level but a Paul Titchard goal doubled the home sides advantage.

Caerleon did pull a goal back late on but by that stage, despite the added time, it was mere consolation. Towards the end of tempers did flare up with some unsavoury incidents but overall it was a good game to watch.

Though it was sad sight to see the main stand in such a neglected state (there are ongoing ground improvements though) I was glad to finally get in a visit to the Pen-y-Pound Stadium. May I suggest to other football fans who have not been here to pay Abergavenny a visit, it will be well worth your efforts!

Hard standing is being installed as ground improvements continue.

What a marvellous vista.

RAYO VALLECANO (Campo de Futbol de Vallecas)

LA LIGA, RAYO VALLECANO 2-2 SEVILLA, ATTENDANCE: 12,375

The final leg of my Spanish journey to me a short subway ride (about 12 minutes) from my hotel near Atocha. It was just as well I could afford myself a bit of lay in after discovering a fine craft beer bar in Madrid, which was open until 1am!

The Estadio de Vallecas is across the road from Portazgo subway entrance and the ground rises between the shops and tower blocks.

The ground feels part of the community and a story that perfectly illustrates that spirit can be found here. The stadium has been home to Rayo since 1976 and has a capacity of just under 15,000. 

The ground was renamed in 1994 when Teresa Rivero became President of the club, the first female President of a Primera División team. Rayo therefore decided to rename the stadium in her honour. When she left in 2011, the club's members voted to reinstate the original name.

This game was close to capacity which meant I had to pay €40 for a seat in the main stand. The plus side to this was it gave me a great pitch side view of the action and also the chance to watch the Rayo Ultra's do their stuff.

The Ultras locate themselves behind the goal (the ground is three-sided) and they kept their support for the team going throughout the game. The noise and atmosphere inside the ground was by far the best I had experienced on this trip.

The fans did have plenty to cheer as the home side came from two goals down to secure themselves a point.

Sevilla were quickest out of the blocks and after 10 minutes the Vallecano defence failed to deal with a corner and, after the ball had pinballed in the six yard box, ex Blackburn and Stoke player Steven N'Zonzi prodded the ball over the line.

After 20 minutes Sevilla counter attacked again and a shot by Vitolo was parried by Rayo 'keeper Juan Carlos into the path of  Iborra who toe poked the ball home.

Sevilla were carving Rayo open at will and should have extended their lead further, including another effort from Iborra which came back off the post

Manucho Gonçalves came on as a substitute after 35 minutes and his physical presence helped to bring Rayo back into the game. He produced a fine finish after 43 minutes, from an Adri Embarba cross, to halve the deficit.

Sevilla missed more chances in the opening period of the second half and their profligacy was to prove costly.  On the hour mark ex-Manchester United player Bebe crossed for Nicolas Fedor to equalise for Rayo.

Rayo had chances to snatch an unlikely victory but in the end were happy to settle for a point. The draw was a fair result, considering the way in which Rayo fought back from two goals down, but Sevilla will be wondering how on earth they let this game slip away.

A fine end to my long weekend of Spanish football. Now, if only I didn't have to have been at the airport for 8pm.....

"Love Rayo, hate racism"
A mural at the ground featuring former West Bromwich Albion legend Laurie Cunningham.
Cunningham played 19 games for Rayo in 1988/89, scoring the goal that clinched promotion to La Liga that season. He sadly died in a car crash in July 1989 aged just 33.

Click here for a video clip of the goals.

Click here for a video of the players and fans clebrating together.

AD ALCORCÓN (Estadio Municipal de Santo Domingo)

SEGUNDA DIVISION, AD ALCORCÓN 1-0 ATHLETIC CLUB BILBAO II, ATTENDANCE: 2,221

After a couple of nights in Valencia, it was back on the fast train and back to the Spanish capital for today's game.

I headed, by train, south west of Madrid (from Atocha to Las Retamas to be exact) to the city of Alcorcón from where it was a five minute walk from the train stop to the home of AD Alcorcón.

Agrupación Deportiva Alcorcón were founded in 1971 and have spent most of their history between the Spainsh fourth tier and regional leagues. In 2000 the club won promotion to the Segunda División B, establishing itself as a mid-table outfit before finishing third in 2009 and earning a play in the play offs

Alcorcón lost 3-1 on aggregate in the play off final to Real Unión Club de Irun but the following season they were finally promoted to the second tier, after defeating Ontinyent CF 4-3 on aggregate in the play off final. The club have remained in the Segunda Division since and are currently in the mix for a play off spot from promotion to La Liga.

The club achieved the most famous result in it's history on the 27th October 2009 when they defeated Real Madrid 4-0 in the Copa del Rey. It was Madrid's second string line up but nonetheless still contained nine internationals including Jerzy Dudek, Raúl, Rafael van der Vaart and Karim Benzema.

The Estadio Municipal de Santo Domingo is AD Alcorcón's home ground and has capacity of 5,000. The ground is surrounded by various pitches, with various pieces of football furniture. Some groundhoppers may be able to tick at least four ground in one afternoon if they so wished.

As I arrived at the ground there was a youth game about to kick off on one of the adjacent pitches. I could have watched and bagged myself a double but I preferred the option of walking to a nearby bar and sinking a couple of Estrella's whilst watching Barcelona on the TV.

Today Alcorcón  were facing the B team of Athletico Bilbao, who are currently bottom of the table. The game was dominated by the home side but they found Álex Remiro in the Bilbao goal in good form. The game was settled 10 minutes into the second half when David Rodríguez fired home the only goal of the game (pictured left).

The ground is a bit of a sun trap and it was nice watching the game with a bit of sun on my back, especially when hearing of the freezing temperatures and postponed games back home!

The sun sets on the Estadio Municipal de Santo Domingo

LEVANTE UD (Estadi Ciutat de Valencia)

LA LIGA, LEVANTE 3-0 GETAFE, ATTENDANCE: 13,665

After a day a sightseeing in Valencia and a lovely meal at La Pepica, a restaurant on the beach front, it was time for another slice of Spanish football.

We were absolutely stuffed on Paella and decided to walk it off and, as luck would have it, it was about 5km from the beach to the ground so it was a leisurely stroll to the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, the home of Levante Unión Deportiva.

The club were founded in 1909, a decade before Valencia CF, but have spent virtually all of their existence in the shadow of their more famous neighbours. Another club, Gimnástico FC, were also formed in 1909. After Levante's ground was destroyed in the civil war and Gimnástico lost most of their players, the two clubs merged in 1939.

The club made it's debut in La Liga in 1963 and stayed there for two seasons before spending the next four decades flitting between divisions two and three. The club returned to La Liga in 2004 but went straight back down. The club really established themselves in La Liga after 2010, when they won promotion once more and have stayed ever since, even managing a last 16 run in the Europa League in 2012/13.

When purchasing tickets for the game you could not help but notice posters in the shop window referring to Levante's "Los Rebeloes" Johan Cruyff was there (he played 10 games for the club in 1981) and also a certain Arouna Kone. Koné was on loan at Levante, and scored the winner against Real Madrid in September 2011.

Koné was rested for the final three games of the season because he was "scoring too many goals" as if he reached 18 he would have to return to Sevilla automatically, which he did not want. He moved to Levante on a permanent basis, though the club sold him on immediately to Wigan Athletic for a tidy profit.

Levante were bottom of the table at the start of play having only won four games all season. They were taking on mid-table Getafe but the way they played this evening, they did not look like a bottom of the league side.

The Levante attack was led by former Manchester United player Guiseppe Rossi, who has signed for the club on loan from Fiorentina until the end of the season, and he helped inspire the team to a much needed three points. José Luis Morales opened the scoring after 10 minutes with a superb solo effort, when he cut in from the left, beat a couple of defenders and shot low into the bottom corner.

It was Rossi (43) who doubled the advantage from the penalty spot after Morales was upended.

Getafe had chances in the second half, Álvaro Vázquez missing a virtual open goal from four yards out, steering his effort hitting the post when it was easier to score.

If Getafe had managed to get one back then I suspect the home side may have crumbled. However, In the 81st minute, Joan Verdu made the game safe for the home side to lift them off the foot of La Liga.

Pre-match was spent in a little cafe yards from the ground, where a fine selection of bottled beer was available. Post-match it was back to my favourite Valencian craft ale bar for one last round of drinks, the more direct walk into the city centre taking about 35 minutes.

Graffiti written on one of the toilet doors in the ground.
If only he would..... 

VALENCIA CF (Mestalla Stadium)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE ROUND OF 32, VALENCIA CF 6-0 SK RAPID WIEN, ATTENDANCE: 28,831

With a couple of days holiday left to take, I booked myself a long weekend in Spain. The plan was to try and get in a game at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium, but the fixture planners were not kind to me once again. So,after landing in Madrid, I took the high speed train from Atocha across to Valencia for a visit to another iconic stadium, the Mestalla.

The Mestalla was inaugurated on 20th of May of 1923 and originally had a capacity of 17,000. During the Spanish Civil War the stadium was used as a concentration camp and storage warehouse. In the 1950s the Mestalla was renovated, resulting in a stadium with a seating capacity of 45,500 spectators. The ground was severely damaged by the floods of 1957, when the River Turia burst it's banks, and was not used again until 1959. The current capacity of the ground is around 55,000.

The club is planning to move to a new ground, but when this will happen is anyone's guess. Construction on a new ground to the north of the city began 2007 (the shell of a ground is there) but is yet to be completed, due to a lack of funding. The new stadium is due to have a capacity of 61,500.

Valencia assistant coach
Phil Neville

The club were founded in 1919 and play in the colours of the Valencian flag, namely red and yellow stripes with a blue trim. The club have won La Liga six times, the most recent title being won in 2004 under the management of Rafa Benitez. They also won the UEFA Cup in that same season.

Valencia Head Coach
Gary Neville

Prior to that the club were runners up in the Champions League in 2000 and 2001 but did win the European Cup Winners Cup in 1980 when they beat Arsenal 5-4 on penalties, the team included the legendary Argentinian striker Mario Kempes.

Former Manchester United captain Gary Neville is the current head coach at Valencia, being surprisingly appointed in December 2015. Ex-Everton skipper Phil Neville, who was already working at the club, is one of his assistants. Under their management the club have been on a wretched run of form with one win in 9 La Liga games and also 7-0 hammering at the hands at Barcelona in the Copa del Rey.

There was also a defeat to Lyon in the Champions League which saw Valencia drop into the Europa League, which is the reason for my visit tonight. Valencia were drawn against Austrian side Rapid Wien (a famous name in the eyes of Everton supporters) but actually went into the game on the the back of a first league win under Neville against Espanyol.

Wien fans relax in Plaza de la
Virgen before the game

If there was any doubt that the players weren't trying for their coach, then they were certainly dispelled on this evidence. Valencia comprehensively took the Austrians apart and were 5-0 up at the break.

Wien fans inside the Mestalla

Goals from Santi Mina (4 & 25) Dani Parejo (10) Alvaro Negredo (29) and André Gomes (35) have almost certainly won the tie for Valencia. Every time the home team broke they looked like they were going to score.

The entire Rapid defensive unit were dreadful in the first 45 minutes. They tightened up in the second period to avoid a more embarrassing scoreline but Rodrigo added one more goal in the last minute of the game.

After the match I headed back into town (about a 25 minute walk from Mestalla) where I found a superb craft ale bar and was able to sink a few beers into the wee small hours.

Santi Mina prods home  André Gomes' cross
to open the floodgates after just 4 minutes.