Not having posted a single entry for an official match by now is arguably embarrassing. Though, in my defence, the non-league championships start rather late in Greece and, as you’ve probably noticed by now, I prefer not to write about the “bigger” teams in this country. That, paired with me taking holidays in early September in a non-football destination, meant that my groundhopping season’s start was far from ideal. But instead of becoming despondent, one has to take action; what else are you going to do on a Sunday anyway?

Choosing to see Argyroupoli was a very spontaneous decision. Not many grounds on today’s list remained unticked, and after a bit of quick research, Argyroupoli’s stadium looked charming enough. Thankfully I’m driving these days, otherwise a trip to the south side would feel like going on holiday abroad. That still didn’t mean I would arrive comfortably before kick-off. On the contrary, just as I got out of the car, I heard the crowd celebrating the first goal; some habits are hard to break, after all.

Argyroupoli is an area in the southern suburbs of Athens, and this season two of its teams are playing in the top level of the capital’s amateur league: Lavra Argyroupolis in Group A and Argyroupoli FC in Group B, who I’m watching today. The stadium is built on the foothills of Mount Hymettus and, for one that’s not even on Google Maps, it’s quite beautiful. In fact, I thought it was one of the nicest grounds I’d been to in a while in Athens. The hill behind the goal not only offers a great view of the pitch, but also of the city and even the Saronic Gulf. We soaked up the view for a bit before entering the only stand, an old-school concrete one. There, my friend who had arrived earlier tried to comfort me by saying that the goal we’d just missed wasn’t that special. A few minutes later, the home side’s striker almost scored the goal of the century after a series of mind-blowing dribbles, before sadly sending the ball just past the woodwork. The rest of the first half saw Iraklio pressing high and creating chances, though not managing to score.

The second half followed a similar pattern, with the visiting side more or less dominating the game, desperately trying to equalise. By that time, the stand had almost filled, and the rather hot-blooded youths of Argyroupoli didn’t miss a chance to have a go at the referee after every half-controversial decision. The tension was already high when, around the 80th minute, Iraklio finally managed to put the ball in the net. Their efforts had borne fruit at last. In the remaining minutes, it felt as if Argyroupoli had just woken up and were trying to turn the match around in their favour, but it was too late. The final whistle blew. Deep down, I wished that Iraklio would lose, probably still grieving over that dramatic season-finale win against Holargos a couple of months ago, but all in all, they didn’t deserve to lose today. After all, I was just happy to be where one is supposed to be on a Sunday.