After last week’s successful outing, I recruited three friends and headed once again to the far northern suburbs of Athens for another game in the EPSANA league — this time by car, thankfully. We were going to see a match from the third (and lowest) division. It’s the only division still ongoing, and today was the final matchday of the season. We chose to visit Panvoreiakos, who sit second in the table, tied on points with the first-place team. The top two teams earn promotion. Panvoreiakos are far ahead of third place and have already secured promotion, so today’s match didn’t carry any real importance — it was more of a celebration.

They’re a very young club, founded just a few years ago. They made their league debut only last season, so this year’s promotion is their first ever. The club is based in Stamata, a small area with a rural feel, located right next to Drosia, which I visited last Sunday.

We set off from central Athens and reached our destination just in time for kick-off, after a roughly 40-minute drive. The ground felt very remote and featured one ugly, yet typical, metallic, scaffolding-like stand. What struck me once again, though, was the landscape — arguably a bit dramatic. Sadly, Greece is no stranger to devastating wildfires. Last year, large parts of northeastern Attica burned for days, and Stamata was one of the affected areas. The stadium was somehow spared, but most of the surrounding trees didn’t survive, as you can see. I could only imagine how beautiful the view from the stand must have been before the fires.

For the season finale, the home side faced off against the B team of Palliniakos — a club from Pallini, whose first team plays in the league’s top division. The visitors’ squad was mainly composed of young players, some still teenagers, and the final score more or less speaks for itself. In the first half, Panvoreiakos controlled possession, but their wastefulness in front of goal limited them to just one goal.

In the second half, one of my friends and I decided to move to the hill opposite the stand for a different perspective. The short hike didn’t take long, but while on our way up, we already heard the crowd celebrating twice — so we understood things had changed on the pitch. From our new vantage point, we saw the home side score three more times before the final whistle.

It all made sense when, while chilling on the hill, I read on the club’s Facebook page that they had just broken a major record: the most goals scored in a single season in the entire EPSANA league, ever! 110 goals in 34 matches — fair play, I thought.

The stand grew more lively in the second half. Friends and family of the home team created their own party — blasting music from a large speaker, drinking beers, and occasionally breaking into song. When the final whistle blew, the celebration spilled onto the pitch, where players and staff celebrated like little kids in front of their enthusiastic fans, who lit smoke bombs. Even the local fire brigade was there (image 15), and congratulated the team over the fire truck’s loudspeaker.

It’s moments like these that remind me why I love amateur football so much.