I left Glyfada heading for Metamorfosi, on the complete opposite side of Athens, to catch another Apollon Smyrnis away game. This time it was against Atromitos, the same side I got to see last week in Agia Paraskevi. I made a stop in Holargos to pick up three friends and we finally got there, a bit past kick-off, after a long drive. Unsurprisingly, the weather was still miserable and freezing cold. I opened one of the beers we had just bought but quickly realised it wasn’t quite the right beverage for those conditions…

The atmosphere at the stadium was very lively though, despite the weather. Apollon fans had completely taken over the stands, as expected, and their ultras group was in good form. After bottling last season, the pressure on the team to go up was even higher this year. They are arguably the favourites and they made that clear today, scoring one goal after another. Another game, another 3–0 result, I thought to myself.

I went to the side to take some photos of Apollon’s penalty when I overheard some disappointed home fans saying the decision was soft and that Apollon were being pushed by the referees. Even if they were right about that call (I wasn’t even looking), it still sounded like a poor excuse when your team is already three-nil down.

The cold was draining the energy out of my friends and me, so when the final whistle blew we were all somewhat relieved. I think by that point they hated me for suggesting this plan, but that’s not really my problem anyway. Players and fans celebrated together, everyone’s mind already on next week’s derby against Fostiras.