Once I’d discovered the fixture list for the Andalusian First Division, it was an easy task to check out Sunday’s fixtures and select a morning game, three-quarters of an hour’s drive up the road at Campillos. It’s a small quiet town and I doubt that it gets many visitors other than a handful of travelling fans supporting away teams.
After wandering around for a while we called into a café for some coffee and carrot cake and then made our way towards the Campo De Futbol Andres Padilla. There are two stadiums, back-to-back, and our game was on the one with the artificial pitch. A few people were congregated outside the ticket window and we joined them to pay our five-euro admission.
The seventh tier is coming to a conclusion, and this was the penultimate game for each club. Hosts Campillos went into the game a point above the relegation zone, whilst visitors Cartama were in third place and looking to preserve their position in the play-offs. Perhaps the importance of the result contributed to the turnout. I’d have estimated that there were probably around two hundred or so spectators, including a few near us from Cartama.
It didn’t start well for Campillos. They were a goal down inside two minutes, with a second coming after a quarter of an hour. They took it badly and spent much of the first half berating the officials. By the time Cartama added a third just before half-time, the home fans, players and bench had worked themselves into a fury over every perceived injustice. It took the ref a good three or four minutes to reach the dressing room as every man and his perro wanted a word with him and his assistants.
The match became a lot more interesting when Campillos pulled a goal back soon after the restart. They should really have reduced the deficit further, but they missed a couple of easy chances. Cartama went from coasting to timewasting with players dropping to the floor for treatment at every opportunity.
With thirteen minutes remaining, Cartama broke free, and their striker resisted the urge to throw himself to the floor or take the ball to the corner. Instead, he finished well to put his side four one up. At that stage some of the home fans made their way to the exit.
They really should have stayed as Campillos responded with two goals in a minute to get within a goal of their opponents and then spent the remaining fifteen minutes (including added time) pressing for a equaliser. Cartama’s keeper went to ground every time he caught the ball and they regularly delayed goal kicks by a player lining up to take it before trotting away to allow someone else to welly it upfield. I’d have issued far more cards than the ref actually did.
The timewasting worked and the visitors held on to retain their third position in the table. Campillos slipped into the bottom four with just the one game remaining to avoid the drop.
Trail of the Lion King 
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