Our trip to the Costa Daurada Cup began with an incredibly early start, leaving Perth on the 27th at 3.30am, to be ready to take off on our flight to Barcelona at 6.30am. The boys handled the journey well and were all in good form when we arrived to a humid morning in Barcelona.

In Barcelona we were greeted by our rep from Transworld Soccer who escorted us to our (thankfully) air-conditioned coach and from the airport we headed straight for the Camp Nou for a tour of the stadium before our journey to the tournament base.

It was fantastic to visit the museum of one of the biggest clubs in the world and the trophy room was almost a match for the Riverside ; ). The history of the Catalan club is unique and FCB is clearly Mes que un Club. The lads even came out the players tunnel to pitchside, which gives a real sense of the scale of the stadium, before heading up to the heights of the press box.

Around 2.30 it was back to the bus as we headed South to our base for the tournament in Salou.

On arrival we checked into our rooms at the hotel and completed our registration for the tournament. The Costa Daurada Cup would feature over 120 teams across the age groups and included clubs like Athletico Madrid, Rayo Vallacano as well as teams from, Sweden, The USA, Australia, Ivory Coast and Russia.

Our schedule would be tough with three games in just 27 hours, the first kicking off at noon on the 28th.

The remainder of our first day was free, so we enjoyed a team dinner together before taking an evening stroll to the beach.

Day two - The tournament begins

Our first match would be vs UCF Cambrils a local club from Salou and we would play them at their home pitch, 30 minutes drive from our hotel, with a 12 noon KO on Wednesday 28th June.

As KO approached and we began our warm up we received a brilliant surprise, hearing a cry of “C’mon Jeanfield” from the stand. Two Perth holidaymakers in Salou (Jimmy and Mags) had seen the story of our trip in the PA and made the effort to track down our game! As parents of Jeanfield’s own Sam Noble they are regular supporters at the Riverside, but watching the Swifts in 30 degrees midday sun was certainly a new experience.

With the temperature in mind, we started the game cautiously, attempting to keep our shape and conserve energy. The home side were very comfortable on the ball and had several impressive individuals across the pitch notably their diminutive number 12. In expected fashion they passed and moved the ball very well, restricting us to the odd breakaway in the first half.

Our passing was letting us down but the team was showing good discipline and although Cambrils had plenty possession there were no real opportunities for the home team. Mid way through the half however, they managed to get in behind down the right hand side and after a through ball by the little number 12, the Spanish striker tucked the chance away despite Connor’s best efforts.

That gave them some impetus and our lads began to feel the heat especially in midfield where we were struggling to cope with their movement. With little possession to build attacks, Daniel was having to feed on scraps up front. Connor came to the fore at this stage of the game and was to pull off a number of stunning saves to deny the home team, but the pressure told and the home team added a second before the break again assisted by 12.

The lads had battled well but were glad of the halftime whistle which allowed us to get back inside and take on some much needed fluids.

We made a number of changes of personnel and tactics at HT in order to try and get back into the game. Ronan moved into the midfield, with Jack Burns tucking in the centre-back Immediately we were higher up the pitch and began to have more effect on the game.

We managed to put together a few attacks in the second half but the home side were now getting in behind us regularly. Again Connor denied the home team, stopping at least three certain goals. There was nothing he could do about the third goal when it came. After evading a couple of challenges on the left hand side of the box, the Cambrils player looked up and placed his curling shot in the top corner, where any goalkeeper would have struggled to save it. 3-0.

Despite the oppressive heat and scoreline, the Swifts continued to compete and Daniel was to get a rewards for his hard work. Jeanfield broke up a Cambrils attack in midfield and retained possession before a ball over the top gave Daniel the opportunity to use his pace. Through on goal he was brought down by a combination of two desperate defenders, fouling from behind and the goalkeeper. Any one of three were lucky not to see red.

Penalty to Jeanfield and Daniel stepped up and held his nerve to coolly slot the ball past their goalie. 3-1. In the remaining few minutes the team took confidence from that goal and mounted some more attacks but the game would finish 3-1.

The game was played in good spirits and UCF Cambrils were a good opponent. The MOTM was Connor Rosewell for his outstanding display but the whole squad had worked hard in very challenging conditions. Our improved second half performance meant we were not too downhearted after our first match.

It was back to the hotel for some lunch, fluids and rest before our next fixture at 6pm that same evening Vs Fesport, another local team and another unknown quanitity.

More to follow….