BACKCELL ARENA (Azerbaijan v Wales)

Whilst i'm still on my covid enforced sabbatical from groundhopping, due to a local lockdown, here is a post I wrote last year about my eventful trip to Azerbaijan, which I never got around to publishing. I suppose it's better late than never. Enjoy! 

SATURDAY 16th NOVEMBER 2019, EURO 2020 QUALIFIER, AZERBAIJAN 0-2 WALES, ATTENDANCE: 8,662

This was certainly a trip into the unknown. When the draw for the qualifiers was made this was the one I definitely had my eye on.

I flew from Manchester to Baku via Istanbul and it was definitely an interesting watching the flight path on screen as places such a Mosul and Allepo appeared in shot. I travelled with an official party and it was a good laugh meeting up with supporters from down the North Wales coast.

There were no problems with the flight and,after a stopover in Turkey and a few light ales, I landed in Baku in the early hours of the morning.

The game was being played at 9pm local time on the Saturday, so this effectively gave 2 days to see the sights of the city. I have to say it was an amazing place to walk around.

The Republic of Azerbaijan was a former Soviet state but is also were Europe meets Asia, so there is an interesting mix of cultures and influences.

The Inner City of Baku, which is surrounded by walls, along with the Shirvanshah's Palace and Maiden Tower, were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000. I spent most of the day walking around these sites.

There was also time to visit the famous Flame Towers and the legendary Carpet Museum to visit as well as stroll along the beach front. However me being me, I managed to seek out a great bar in order to have a few bevvies and plenty of the local falling over juice (as my badly bruised ribs would ultimately testify).

 

When my plans for this trip were drawn up and booked, it was assumed that the game would be played at the Olympic Stadium but as the qualifiers got underway it quickly became clear that Azerbaijan were playing their home games at the 11,000 capacity Eighth Kilometer District Stadium which, for sponsorship purposes, is currently called the Backcell Arena. The ground was inaugurated in 2012 when it hosted matches in the Women's U17 World Cup.

The ground is also the home of Azerbaijan Premier League side PFC Neftchi, who have won the most league titles (8) of any club in the competitions history.

With the smaller capacity, it was then a case of waiting to see what allocation the Welsh FA would be getting. As tickets are sold on an away credit basis it was a nervous countdown of days until as the tickets were sold. Fortunately there was no issues and I obtained my ticket with no problem (and the collection point was even in my hotel in Baku). The ground is around 9 miles out of town and buses were laid on for the Welsh fans to take them to and from the stadium. 

Wales took about 1,200 fans to Azerbaijan for this must win game, knowing that any slip ups could end any chance of automatic qualification. In the end it was a comfortable victory thanks to goals from Kieffer Moore (10) and Harry Wilson (34).

This, coupled with Croatia beating Slovakia, put automatic qualification back in Wales' hands and they duly completed the job by beating Hungary a few days later.

Unfortunately for me I was unable to attend this game as my ribs were badly bruised as a result of my over exuberance on the Friday night and I was confined to the sofa barely able to breathe! Indeed I had to pay a visit to the hospital on my return home to have my ribs checked over. Will I ever learn?

As a final postscript, when the draw was made for Euro 2020, Wales were drawn in a group where two of the games will be played at the Olympic Stadium in Baku but obviously Covid-19 has put things on hold until 2021.

Keifer Moore heads home for the first goal of the night