Archive for April, 2026

CD Rincon v Fuengirola Bowling Alleys, Sunday 8th March 2026, 12.15pm

April 2, 2026

We’d been staying at an Airbnb in Rincon de la Victoria which was only around fifty yards from the sea. That made it easy to have a stroll along the front before or after work, or even between meetings. The holiday season wasn’t yet up and running, but there were enough bars and restaurants for us not to become bored with any of them.

On Sunday morning I set off on my usual route, but before reaching the disused train tunnels I veered off to the right at the hut where we’d had sardine skewers two nights previously. I then headed to the outskirts of the town and the Francisco Romero Stadium.

My destination was the location for a second game of the weekend in the seventh tier First Andalucia (Malaga) division. Hosts CD Rincon were taking on Fuengirola Bowling Alleys. I think the visiting team’s name provides a reasonable clue to assessing the standard at this level.

Rincon were third in the table and looking likely candidates for a play-off spot. The Bowling Alley boys were back in ninth, but not completely out of the promotion race.

I paid my five euros admission and took a seat in the main stand that ran along one side of the pitch. It was only three rows deep but elevated so that it provided a decent view. There was another, less elevated, stand opposite. I could see the hills to the left and the sea to the right.

Rincon had most of the early possession and the better chances, but both sides managed to get the ball in the net only for their effort to be judged offside. As we neared half time a row broke out near me. I don’t think that it was between home and away protagonists, but more likely apologists v bedwetters from the same club. I find it hard to get passionate over the Boro these days, so it baffles me that people could come close to blows at a game involving a team representing a bowling alley.

At half time I wandered across to the other side of the ground and visited the bar for a drink. I think a lot of the old fellas sat at the tables had been there since kick-off or even earlier. Maybe it’s a way for them to have a few scoops with their mates before the seafront bars open for Sunday lunch.

The second half was hard fought on the pitch with no further aggro in the stands. There weren’t any goals though and we finished up with a nil-nil scoreline that I doubt either team were particularly pleased with.

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Atletico Estacion v Atletico Benamiel, Saturday 7th March 2026, 5pm

April 1, 2026

I hadn’t intended to be away from home this week, but we had Soph and the kids staying with us between house moves and it was clear that they would appreciate a bit of space. That’s fine, especially if it means a couple of weeks just outside of Malaga in the coastal town of Victoria de La Rincon.

I still had to work during the week but come Saturday we were free to drive to nearby Cartama. It’s a town where I’ve watched a game before, at the stadium just off the motorway.

This fixture was at the Campo de Futbol Antonio Jesus Mayo Canamero. We parked outside and went for a pre-match wander around town and some lunch. There was a street market opening up that sold nothing of interest to me. We briefly looked at the outside of a church but decided that we might as well return to the stadium, pay our five euros admission, and sit down for an hour before the game started.

The ground dates back to the late seventies and holds around a thousand. There are three rows of covered seating along one side and a standing area behind the goal nearest the entrance. The game between Atletico Estacion and Atletico Benamiel was in the seventh tier First Andalucia (Malaga) division. That sounds relatively high-level, but the Spanish Pyramid is so flat that it equates to tier ten or eleven in England, so Northern League Division Two, or even Wearside League.

The hosts began the game in fifth place, with the visitors in eleventh in a sixteen-team division. Estacion were supported by about two hundred fans, including a few ultras with a drum and some parents who had hung around after the earlier kids game on the same pitch.

Midway through the first half there was some fake crowd noise played over the loudspeakers. I remember Me Mark Page doing that during one of the Boro’s European games. Embarrassing really, although as we now know, that was the least of his noncesense.

I could describe some of the action but there were a lot of goals and, let’s face it, nobody reads these to find out who won. If by some chance you do, it was the Estacion by five goals to two.

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