Alcorcón

Ground: Estadio Santa Domingo

Visits: 1

Date: 17th February 2018

Match: Alcorcón - Tenerife 1-1 (Segunda División)

Attendance: 2 890

As I was planning the annual mid-February trip I quite early decided to go to Spain. La Liga aren´t exactly in a hurry when it comes to confirming kick-off times for the top two divisions but there were plenty of options in the Madrid area to start the trip with. Once kick-off times were confirmed I realized it was possible for me to attend four games over the weekend. The highlight was to be Real Betis v Real Madrid on Sunday evening. First up was Alcorcón v Tenerife in Segunda División on Saturday evening though. As I left for Copenhagen airport on Friday afternoon I realized this was actually the third consecutive trip where I would start with a flight to Madrid Barajas. At 18.35 my flight departed and around 23.15 I was in my hotel room in central Madrid.

As I woke up in Madrid on Saturday morning the weather was quite nice. During the day temperatures would reach 12-13 °C but above all it wouldn´t rain. I decided to start the day with a trip to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, the iconic home of Real Madrid. I still haven´t seen a Real Madrid home game but back in November 2007 I attended Spain v Sweden at this ground. Once outside this impressive football ground there were a lot of people queuing for stadium tour tickets. The price was a bit steep (€25) but I still decided to do the tour. The panoramic view was impressive as was the display of the 12 European Cups/Champions League trophies Real Madrid have won. You were offered plenty of photo opportunities and Real Madrid really know how to milk money form their fans. Anyway, spent an hour on the tour and after a visit to Plaza Mayor I headed back to my hotel for a late lunch and a rest before heading for the game.

AD Alcorcón are based in the southern outskirts of Madrid and the club was founded in 1971. Since the 2010/11 season the club has played in Segunda División and before that they never played in the second tier of the Spanish league pyramid. Their home is Estadio Santo Domingo, capacity 5 200, and from Atocha station it takes 23 minutes by commuter train to reach Las Retamas station. From there it is then only a short walk to the ground. I arrived at the ground at the same time as the Tenerife team and around 25 fans greeted them with flags and chants. The ticket office opened at 16.30 and for 20 Euros I bought a seat in the upper tier of the stand opposite the main stand. With only the main stand being covered I guess attendances at Estadio Santo Domingo depends just as much on the weather as on the opponents. The actual match started with a bang, 0-1 from the penalty spot in the 3rd minute. In the 31st minute Alcorcón were rewarded a penalty as well and it was now 1-1 on the score-board. In the second half both teams had a few chances but 1-1 was a fair result in my opinion. Almost 3 000 fans turned up for this Segunda División encounter and for Alcorcón that is a better than average attendance. Tenerife brought around 100 fans which is quite good for this league. After the final whistle I hurried back to Las Retamas station and by 20.30 I was back in my hotel. Two games for me tomorrow in Sevilla and having an early start to the day, my train departs at 7am, I wnt to bed quite early.

Estadio Santo Domingo