It was a typical sunny Wednesday afternoon when my friend and I decided to head west to watch some football. At this time, the streets of central Athens were crammed as usual, and we barely arrived on time to the area; an area strongly tied to its football club.

Egaleo FC are a club with a decent amount of history, a strong fanbase, and a solid stadium. They spent a good few years in the top flight and even managed to qualify for the UEFA Cup 20 years ago. This year, they’re doing alright in the second division, and today they’re playing a cup game against Kampaniakos, a fellow second-division team from Thessaloniki.

After finally finding a parking spot, we had a quick look at the graffiti around the stadium and bought tickets for the long stand. The crowd wasn’t huge, presumably due to the day and time of the kickoff, but the support was good throughout the game.

The match was quite enjoyable too. Egaleo played well, scoring early on, and then once more at the beginning of the second half. The away side fought back, scoring a goal before missing a penalty that would have levelled the score at 2-2. Both sides scored another goal each before the final whistle, which saw Egaleo’s players celebrate a qualification to the next round in front of their ultras.