This season, I’ve set myself the challenge of seeing 500 goals scored live. There’s a few rules to this, as covered in the first update of the series. To be brief, only 11-a-side counts, it has to be a somewhat decent level (I can’t get my mates to play out a 33 all draw), and penalty shootout goals count as regular goals.
At the end of the first month, I was slightly off target. Through a combination of good luck, well picked fixtures, and the team I support being absolutely terrible - I’m not anymore.
So here it is, the live football I watched in August:
Saturday 1st August - Cymru South
Llantwit Major AFC 0 - Pure Swansea FC 3
A new season begins, and with it, a surge of excitement. Maybe this will be the year? Our biggest signing goes off injured after 30 minutes, and we lose 3-0 at home to a newly promoted team. Hate football.
Friday 7th August - Cymru South
Afan Lido FC 5 - Llantwit Major AFC 0
Yep, I definitely hate football.
Sunday 9th August - Friendly
Treowen Stars U21s 1 - Llantwit Major AFC U21s 2
If you’re wondering if this made me feel better about the last two games, it didn’t.
Friday 14th August - Ardal South West
Cardiff Airport 2 - Penydarren Seniors 1
Cardiff Airport (who are not an airport team) take on Penydarren Seniors (who are not a seniors team) in the Ardal South West, the third tier of football. Pictured below, the stadium’s introvert section.
Saturday 15th August - Cymru South
Llantwit Major AFC 0 - Baglan Dragons FC 1
When you claim your best result of the season so far, and it’s a 1-0 loss at home, you know things are going great.
Sunday 16th August - Community Shield
Manchester City 0 - Arsenal 3
With this fixture being played in Cardiff, it was a great excuse to see some top level football close to home. However, my main takeaway from this wasn’t about how good the players are, it was confirmation that North London Forever is the worst football song in history.
Tuesday 18th August - Bridgend & District Premier League
Tondu Robins FC 0 - Sarn FC 12 (TWELVE)
I almost decided to go to a different game (that finished 1-1), but at the last minute realised this one was a bit easier to get to. It ranks as one of my better decisions, as Sarn provided a massive boost to the challenge by smashing in 12 goals. If I watched Tondu Robins every week, I could probably have this challenge wrapped up by November.
Thursday 20th August - Gwent Premier Cup Round 1
Llanhilleth Athletic FC 0 - FC Tredegar 8
20 goals in two games is some going, and the challenge is absolutely back on. While Tredegar found the net eight times, one of their players missed an open goal from a yard out by putting it over the bar. If I finish the season on 499, I’ll never forgive him.
Saturday 22nd August - Cymru South
Aberyswyth Town FC 5 - Llantwit Major AFC 1
At least we got one.
Thursday 27th August - Europa Conference League Playoff Round
Hibernian FC 2 - KAA Gent 3
With my own team in shambles, I thought I’d go up to Scotland to finally visit Easter Road, a ground I’ve wanted to add to my list for a long time. The main reason for going was to hear Sunshine on Leith, the greatest football song in the world, be sung. It’s only sung after momentous victories, which this would have been if they pulled it off.
Of course, they blew a 2-1 lead in the last five minutes, including a last second own goal. Nice pie though.
Saturday 29th August - Ardal North West
Penmaenmawr Phoenix FC 2 - Y Felinheli 4
In my opinion, Cae Sling is the best football ground in Wales, and I stopped off on my way home from Scotland to visit it. If you’re a groundhopper, you need to add this to your list - it’s a brilliant place to watch football, and I saw a cracker of a game with six goals, a red card, a giant statue of a bucket hat, and a top notch clubhouse.
August total:
11 matches attended (20 this season)
55 goals seen (85 this season)
415 goals required
A monster of a month in terms of goals, even if a lot of them were scored against the team I support. The maths says I needed to be on 82 goals by this point to make it, making me slightly ahead! However, I’m unlikely to have another week with 12-0, 8-0, 5-1 scorelines back-to-back, so it’s still very much up for grabs.
Roll on September. Where Llantwit won’t win a game, but anything else could happen!