Leixoes

Ground: Estádio do Mar

Visits: 1

Date: 6th January 2018

Match: Leixōes - Famalicão 1-0 (Liga Pro)

Attendance: 772

Once fixtures for Liga Pro, the Portuguese 2nd division, were confirmed I realized it was possible to combine the evening game in Primeira Liga (Braga v Rio Ave) with at least one game in Liga Pro. In the end I actually looked at doing my first ever treble today. Julian had rented a car for the weekend and it was then possible to go to Leixōes v Famalicão (11.15) and Braga B v Sporting B (15.00) prior to going to Estadio Municipal de Braga in the evening. At 10.30 we arrived at Estádio do Mar in the western parts of Porto. I bought two tickets, 8 Euros each, but when we tried to enter we realized they were for the away section behind the goal. We went to the ticket office in the main stand but they refused to let us in to the main stand. Apparently this stand is for members, VIPs and media only. Tickets for the other side were only sold where I had bought my tickets but not wanting to make the walk back to that ticket office (quite a long walk) we decided to enter as away fans. The police seemed quite surprised we were in that section and I was hardly searched at all. Estádio do Mar was opened in 1963 and has a capacity of around 7 000. Unless you sit in the main stand you are quite far from the pitch. Away fans are in the north end of the ground and “normal” home fans are in the East stand. In the last 30 years Leixōes SC have been mostly playing in the 2nd division but between 2007 and 2010 the club were in the Primeira Liga.

Around 125 fans from Famalicão were at Estádio do Mar this nice Saturday morning. Sitting directly in the sun I was wearing a t-shirt, locals were wearing winter coats! The game was very poor but when you have a pitch looking like a cow field I guess playing decent football is quite difficult. This was 4th v 3rd in Liga Pro so important points at stake. After 90 minutes it was still 0-0 but in the third minute of stoppage time Leixōes managed to score. That goal meant a 1-0 victory for the home team and a move to an automatic promotion spot. Going to Braga we wanted to leave as soon as the final whistle had been blown. Being in the away fans sector we were kept behind for 15 minutes though. Since more or less every fan was a “normal” fan and not even remotely looking like a hooligan the Famalicão fans could not really understand why they had to wait. We eventually set off for Braga and at 14.15 we arrived at Estádio Municipal de Braga where we bought tickets for the game later in the evening. At 14.30 we then set off for Estádio 1 Maio, the venue for my second match this Saturday.