I’d had a couple of days in Seville without a game due to a misunderstanding as to where Huesca was. I’d thought it was an hour’s drive down the road, but that’s Huelva. Huesca is actually around a thousand kilometres north and attending the game there would have needed two lengthy train journeys either side of an overnight stay. That mistake added to my list of redundant match tickets impulsively purchased without properly checking the details.
Saturday was ok though in that I found a bar where I could watch the FA Cup third round games. I saw the early kick-off between Sunderland and Newcastle, where I don’t think there’s an outcome that I couldn’t have taken some pleasure from and then the Boro’s game against Villa. We did well against Premier League opposition, certainly better than Sunderland did, holding them until three minutes from time when a spawny deflection knocked us out of the competition.
I had hoped to see two games on the Sunday but the kick-off times didn’t quite work and so I settled for just the one, a women’s game between Real Betis and Granada in the top-tier Primera Femenino at the Ciudad Deportiva Luis Del Sol.
My route took me along the river and through a funfair. I remembered taking the same path twelve years earlier to see the Betis men’s team and on that occasion, I ignored my phone and took what I thought was a short cut. As ever, it wasn’t the wisest of decisions and I found myself stuck in some dockyard before having to retrace my steps. I did as directed this time and eventually found myself outside the Betis men’s stadium.
I was relieved to see people parking their cars at the main stadium on the basis that the ground that I actually wanted wouldn’t be too much further on. It wasn’t and I soon had a five-euro ticket. I bought a drink and a snack outside, just in case there was nothing available inside and then headed into the main stand.
It was free seating and most of the crowd that eventually swelled to a few hundred chose seats in the lower tier. We were in the shade so it was fairly chilly. It’s so difficult to gauge how warm it’s going to be in Spain in January and a choice of sun or shade would have made life easier.
Granada, in blue, were fighting relegation, with Betis, in their standard green and white, safely in the top half of the table. Despite the difference in status, it was the visitors that opened the scoring ten minutes in from a close-range header.
Betis increased the pressure and were level mid-way through the first half. The Granada keeper did well to turn away the first effort, then parried the rebound, but third time’s the charm as a Betis striker finally applied the finish.
At half-time I bought what I thought were peanuts and was half right. They’d been cut with some sort of maize snack. Who would ever think that’s a good idea?
I watched the second half from the upper tier where I was able to benefit from the winter sun on my back. Granada regained the lead with a shot from outside the box before Betis levelled again from a little closer to goal.
With time running out and both side pushing for a winner, Granada won a penalty. The Betis goalie got down well to save it, but the penalty taker was first to the rebound and tucked it away to clinch the points.
I gambled on a different route back to the city centre through a park and barely got lost at all, so a good day all around.
Trail of the Lion King 
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