Lilywhites on Tour: Gibraltar offers up a unique place to watch football

The best thing about following a football team are the places it can take you. I’m talking about places you mightn’t otherwise visit. I’m talking about places like Gibraltar.

UEFA’s second-youngest member after Kosovo, clubs from Gibraltar first appeared on the continental stage back in the summer of 2014.

That’s despite the fact the Gibraltarian Football Association, founded in 1895, actually predates the Football Association of Ireland by more than quarter of a century. But believe me when I say that’s not where the weird and wonderful nature of this British Overseas Territory ends, far from it.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and Dundalk’s 2021 turbulence, this was my first footballing excursion since visiting the Tehelne Pole in Slovakia some four years ago.

Like most of the travelling contingent in Gibraltar last week, I decided to base myself in the border town of La Linea, technically in Spain, but within walking distance of Gibraltar International Airport, which is consistently listed as one of the most dangerous airports in the world to fly into.

From the experience, it’s maybe not so much dangerous as it is unnerving, partly because it looks like you’re landing in water when flying in!

Add to that, the runway actually cuts through a busy street, which separates the border between Gibraltar and Spain, a journey I made several times throughout my time there.

The Rock of Gibraltar is the first thing you see when disembarking the plane. Akin to the hundreds of wild monkeys inhabiting it, visions of the imposing limestone ridge are just about everywhere, no matter where you’re situated in the city and even beyond.

Making the trek to the top is well worth it too, not just to witness the antics of the monkeys, but also for the breathtaking views. North Africa is clearly visible from that vantage point.

Indeed, you’re a stone’s throw from North Africa, but yet, home doesn’t seem so far away. It really does have the feel of a small English town, to the point where the British influence is far greater than I had even anticipated.

On my first day in Gibraltar, I stumbled across a Tesco supermarket. Stocked inside were Barry’s and Lyons teabags, as well as Tayto crisps (yes, the real ones). Definitely a first on my international travels.

Dundalk’s opponents, FCB Magpies, were only formed in 2013 and are the third-lowest ranked team in this season’s Europa Conference League.

Still, after sitting down for a chat with head coach Stephen O’Donnell and defender Louie Annesley at the Elliott Hotel on Wednesday lunchtime, it is apparent that neither was expecting an easy exercise against Magpies.

The heat is brought up by O’Donnell, and would ultimately play its part on matchday. That being said, at least there’s a breeze, which painfully wasn’t the case in Cyprus five years ago, when Dundalk got beaten 4-0 by AEK Larnaca.

Annesley, a Gibraltar international, references the improvements of the domestic league over the last number of seasons. He also makes it clear to me that any friendships he has with the opposition would be forgotten once they headed into battle at Victoria Stadium, where the travelling local media later observed part of Dundalk’s final training session.

Magpies was born inside Bruno’s, a bar/restaurant located on the boardwalk, so this footballing holiday wouldn’t have been complete without paying a visit there, where a couple of refreshments followed a fish and chip dinner the evening before the game.

Approximately 200 Dundalk supporters made the trip, so bumping into familiar faces in the hotel, on the streets, and even up on The Rock was a common feature. Seeing them all congregate in the away section of what is the national stadium on matchday, baking in the searing temperature, served as a reminder of just how fantastic our fanbase really is. 

Although this trip was up there with some of the best, the game itself won’t live too long in the memory. A scoreless draw away from home ahead of this week’s return leg at Oriel Park was a reasonable, if not ideal outcome.

Appearing on The Town End Podcast from the hotel balcony concluded what was an eventful Thursday on the Iberian Peninsula.

Before catching a flight back home on the Friday morning, I made a short trip to Europa Point, which some say marks Europe’s end. Hopefully this is not the case for Dundalk.