MFK RUŽOMBEROK (Štadión pod Čebraťom)

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE 3rd QUALIFYING ROUND 2nd Leg,
MFK RUŽOMBEROK 0-1 EVERTON, ATTENDANCE: 4,752

Hello and welcome back. Here we go with another season of groundhopping!

Season 2017/18 began as 2016/17 ended, that is watching a game over in Europe. My team, Everton, qualified for the Europa League after finishing in 7th place in the Premier League last season. This meant entering at the 3rd qualifying round stage.

When the draw was made it was an either or situation, as it was made between the legs of the second qualifying round. Everton would either face a trip Norway or Slovakia. As SK Brann won 1-0 away from home, this seemed the most likely destination. However MFK Ružomberok obviously had other ideas and, thanks to two goals in the final 12 minutes, it was they that progressed. Destination Slovakia.

I jumped in feet first and booked a flight. The first thought after booking was the capacity of Ružomberok's stadium. From it's heyday of 20,000 capacity was now a mere 4,800 (this is more than enough as the club have an average gate of around 1,700) so the demand for tickets was going to be huge.

I certainly would not qualify for a ticket in the away section, Everton's allocation being just 450. Given past European experiences, I know the Blues supporters would travel in numbers so it could be problematic actually getting in. Had I just effectively spent a load of money travelling to watch a game in a bar? There were Internet rumours that the game could be switched to a larger capacity ground, Žilina perhaps, but they proved to be just that as Ružomberok quite rightly decided to play at home.

I landed in Vienna the day before the match and took the bus to Bratislava, my base for the night, before heading into it's delightful city centre for a few nightcaps. Le Senk craft beer cafe, with its choice of 8 taps, was the highlight if you are interested to know.

Ružomberok train station

Ružomberok is in the northern part Slovakia, in the Liptov region of the country, which is famous for it's ski resorts. The town's main industry is paper. In fact I received a bizarre text message from my brother asking does the town smell like our local paper mill? I can't say I noticed any lingering aroma! Andrej Hlinka, a politician, priest and activist, has the delightful town square named after him. Other famous people from the town include Hollywood actor Peter Lorre and football player and manager Dr Jozef Vengloš, who had a disastrous season in charge of Aston Villa in 1990/91.

 The local delicacy (left) Bryndzové halušky - dumplings with sheep's-milk

cheese topped with bacon bits. If you didn't fancy that, you could always

try the local kebab shop (right).

Ružomberok is a three and a half hour train journey from Bratislava. I arrived in the town around 1.30pm and, after checking into my hotel, set about trying to obtain an elusive match ticket. Armed with a makeshift notice with the words Máte vstupenku na predaj? Ďakujem written on it, I walked around the pretty little town, with its population of around 30,000, and then up to the ground but I had no offers but plenty of smiles. Clearly an English Premier league team were a massive draw.

 I then headed to a bar near the ground, to meet up with a few mates, and effectively settled myself in for the evening, but still leaving said notice visible on the table. It was in the bar that my wish came true! A local chap came along and said he had a ticket for sale and after a wee bit of negotiation, with the waitress translating, a fee was agreed. I went outside to complete the transaction and the ticket was in my hand. Bingo!

The holy grail!

I bounded back into the bar with a beaming smile across my face but then one of the lads, who had a ticket in the Everton end, said that is a different layout to his. Indeed it was. The ticket had the logos for a league game across the top, whereas his ticket had Europa League written across the top. Another lad, who had managed to bag themselves a ticket in the home end, also showed me his ticket and that also had Europa league written across it. I was now starting to think the worse. I needed another drink. Good job the beer was only one euro a pint!

Mestský Futbalový Klub Ružomberok began life as Rózsahegyi Sport Club in 1906 but changed their name in 2003. The club traditionally played in white, yellow and red, but the club sponsors insisted on changing the colours to orange and black in 2005. Ružomberok are nicknamed The Rose, with the flower and a football used in the team’s crest.

Štadión pod Čebraťom Stadium is about a 20 minute walk from town and it's name literally translates as "stadium at the foot of the Čebrať Hill" As mentioned previously the capacity is 4,800 and is two sided, with stands on either touchline. There is empty space behind one goal and a Tesco supermarket behind the other - many Evertonians were wondering if their clubcard points could be exchanged for a standing spot on the roof!

Ružomberok gained promotion to the Slovak Second Division for the first time in 1993 and then to the Slovak Super Liga in 1997. Ružomberok enjoyed the most successful season in their history in 2005/06 when they won the domestic double, lifting the Slovak Super Liga and Slovak Cup.

The club qualified for this season’s Europa League after finishing third in their league in 2016/17. They edged past Serbian side Vojvodina 3-2 in the first qualifying round then beat the aforementioned SK Brann in round two. Everton laboured to a 1-0 first leg victory courtesy of Leighton Baines' deflected shot which meant tonight's game had potential banana skin written all over it. Certainly Ružomberok would fancy their chances?

I headed up to the ground about an hour before kick off and set about seeing if the ticket I had bought was for real. Whilst wandering around to my turnstile entrance there were plenty of Everton fans milling around trying to obtain tickets or find a way into the ground. A couple of lads made a dart for an open gate and promptly got cuffed by the local feds.

I arrived at my entrance and, after a short queue, I placed my ticket under the scanner. Nothing. Then once again. Nothing. I began to feel the beads of sweat on my forehead but then a steward took my ticket, scanned it and "beep" the green tick flashed before my eyes. I was in.

The seat was spot on and I was two rows in from the front. I was within touching distance of the Everton heroes in blue! I however managed to restrain myself from asking Kevin Mirallas and Gareth Barry for a selfie, though it was very tempting to try and beckon Big Dunc over!

The match was not a great spectacle as both teams barely mustered a decent effort between them for the majority of the game. Jordan Pickford, making his Everton debut, was barely troubled. Morgan Schneiderlin headed over the bar and Ružomberok's Erik Daniel hit a shot wide but that was about it in the opening period.

The deadlock was broken 11 minutes from time thanks to a superb solo effort from Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The striker picked up Davy Klaasen's pass and burst through before firing the ball low past Matus Macik in to the net.

Highlighting his appeal, and despite being largely anonymous, Wayne Rooney was given a very generous ovation from the Ružomberok fans around me as he was substituted before the end of the game.

Despite the tepid affair it was mission achieved for The Toffees and the draw for the play-off round meant the Blues will be heading to Croatia, where they will face Hajduk Split. Unfortunately I will not be able to make that trip but whether that is a blessing or a curse remains to be seen. Up The Toffees!

UEFA EURO 2016 (St Etienne)

Monday 20th June 2016
UEFA Euro 2016 Group B
Stade Geoffroy Guichard
Slovakia 0-0 England
Attendance: 39,051

This was the game I had the biggest dilemma with. When this little jaunt around southern France was planned, and tickets obtained, we had no idea who we would be watching. After the draw had been made it then became clear it would be Slovakia v England. However I also had tickets for Russia v Wales back in Toulouse. I factored in that it was 550km back to Toulouse, coupled with the fact that tomorrow we will be heading to Marseille, a further 330km from Lyon, even further from Toulouse, and came to the logical conclusion and stuck with plan A.

After an afternoon chilling with a few beers, it was a 45 minute train journey from our base in Lyon to St Etienne. Upon arrival at Châteaucreux Station there were loads of England fans in the surrounding bars and cafes, so we decided to head off the beaten track to try and avoid the mobs. We stumbled on this backstreet bar, which turned out to be a St Etienne Ultras bar. Once established that two of us were not England supporters they were absolutely fine.

We had a very good chat about St Etienne, who were a major force in European football in the 1970's. They came within a Hampden Park (square) post of winning the European Cup in 1976, eventually losing 1-0 to Bayern Munich. As I one of the chaps I was with is a red, the subject of a famous night in 1977 came up. He was there etc etc. Michel Platini is one of St Etienne's many famous former players, as is current darling of the French team Dimitri Payet. They also gave an insight into their rivalry with Olimpique Lyonnais and told us there is currently an away fan ban in place due to trouble at past encounters.

The Stade Geoffroy Guichard was opened in 1931 and is named after the founder of the Casino retail group, who purchased the site on which the ground was built. It is another ground that has a British feel to it, with four separate stands, though for this tournament the corners have been filled in to increase the capacity to over 40,000.

It was a good 35 minute walk to the ground where en-route we were treated to the finest songs the England fans had to offer. I'll leave it at that. Upon arrival at the ground, despite arriving over an hour before kick off, it took the longest of all the grounds I had visited to gain entry. There were hundreds of fans trying to enter through one gate and the crowd was swelling as the minutes passed. At one stage it was becoming very uncomfortable as crushing started to happen. I got separated from the others but, after a cursory pat down, I manged to gain entry well before kick off.

England had the better chances and dominated the possession, and maybe they were thinking 'Nothing can stop us' but Slovakia keeper Matus Kozacik was in fine form and their solid defence was marshaled superbly by Martin Skrtel. 

Slovakia knew a draw (and four points) would be enough to see them through and they never had any attacking intent whatsoever, apart from the odd counter. It was 'So tough' for England who didn't appear to have any idea how to break down the Slovak defence.

Indeed a mix up between Chris Smalling and Joe Hart could have gifted the Slovaks a goal. However the draw means that both teams go through, however Wales' 3-0 victory against Russia meant that it was Wales who topped group B. No doubt the Welsh were dancing in the streets of 'Tiger Bay' after that result!

UEFA EURO 2016 (Bordeaux)

Saturday 11th June 2016
UEFA Euro 2016 Group B
Stade de Bordeaux
Wales 2-1 Slovakia
Attendance: 37,831

Joe Jordans's handball, 1977. Paul Bodin's penalty miss, 1993. Egor Titov's failed drug test, 2003. The history of Welsh football has been littered with injustices and bad luck. Well, finally, after 58 years of heartbreak these can finally be consigned to the dustbin of history. After 58 years, Wales have once again arrived on the scene of a major international tournament.

The last time Wales took part in a major tournament was the World Cup in 1958 when a 17 year old Pele inspired Brazil to a 1-0 victory. Wales did reach the quarter-finals of the 1976 European Championships, but in those days it was played on an home away basis up until the semi-finals, when the last four teams played the tournament.

Wales' Euro 2016 campaign kicked off at the "New" Stade de Bordeaux in, err, Bordeaux, the home of Girondins de Bordeaux. The ground was opened last year and replaced the Stade Chaban Delmas. The capacity of the stadium is around 42,000 and the roof is supported by over 1000 poles, designed to give the impression that it is floating. It is a sight to behold.

I was undertaking a day trip in order to watch this game today, so my journey began with a couple of beers at Cardiff Airport before a (slightly delayed) direct flight had me in Bordeaux just before midday. Once through passport control, a coach was waiting to ferry me to the ground.

The ground is a good 7km outside of Bordeaux, so I faced with a dilemma. Do I jump on a packed tram for the 45 minute journey into town, with little time to do anything, or stay where I am. In the end the choice was made for me as there was a sudden walk out by tram drivers meaning no trams were running to and from the city centre.  C'est la vie.

I am back in Bordeaux next week, though I will not be watching any football. I have read that the historic part of the city is on the UNESCO World Heritage List as "an outstanding urban and architectural ensemble" of the 18th century. I will hopefully get a chance to look at this architecture on my return. Or maybe just another alehouse!

Bordeaux is the world's major wine industry capital but there was only the official urine of Euro 2016 available at the ground (and virtually alcohol free at that) so I made do with a soft drink, but at least it was in a commemorative cup for you to take home!

The only evidence of heightened security I saw was armed soldiers at the airport and blockades around the ground checking cars and buses. On entry to the ground there was a pat down and a cursory check of my bag and ticket but nothing too invasive.

Unfortunately being on a day trip I missed the massive Welsh party that took place in the town over the previous 24 hours, but as kick off approached I could feel the atmosphere in the stadium building. I would estimate there was a good 20,000 Wales supporters in the stadium for this game. It looked like a sea of red all around me and the noise was tremendous.

Slovakia were also playing their first European finals tournament as an independent nation and it was they who almost made the early breakthrough when Marek Hamsik burst through and beat Danny Ward in the Welsh goal, but Ben Davies had spotted the danger and covered back in order to clear the ball off the line.

It was Gareth Bale, who else, that opened the scoring when his free kick from 25 yards found the net. Admittedly Slovakia goalkeeper Matus Kozacik did not cover himself in glory and maybe should have saved it. Wales had the better of the first half and deserved to be 1-0 up at the break.

Slovakia came back into the game in the second half and it was no surprise when they equalised, substitute Ondrej Duda applying the finish with his first touch of the game. Wales were on the ropes after this goal but an inspired double substitution by Chris Coleman (and a fantastic rendition of 'Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau' by the Welsh fans which echoed around the ground) helped turn the tide and create the winning goal.

Joe Ledley played a defence splitting ball to Aaron Ramsey, who flicked the ball into the path of Hal Robson-Kanu who scuffed the ball into the back of the net. They all count and it sent the Welsh fans into absolute raptures.

There was still time for Slovakia to hit the post, Adam Nemec's header coming back off the upright, but after all the years of heartache then maybe Wales deserved that little bit of luck. This result meant Wales were the first British side to win their opening game at a European Championship finals. It must have been the day for history!