Nouvelle

Back home after a weekend in Bordeaux, and still trying to process the experience of watching Wales defeat Slovakia in the Nouvelle Stade de Bordeaux as part of the Euro 2016 tournament.

My sister had invited me to accompany her, and after travelling down the day before we were able to spend the morning walking the city, bumping into red-shirted Welsh fans at every turn, even in the fabulous vegan cafe where we had lunch.

Then came time to take the tram out the the stadium, a tram soon crammed beyond capacity but which delivered us safely. Negotiating queues for security, souvenirs and iced tea, we took our seats in a mixed area of the yellow stand, directly opposite the Red Wall of what was in theory the Welsh end. In fairness we made up two thirds of the crowd.

After a short opening ceremony, and a rousing communal rendition of Lands of My Fathers  (which L'Equipe acknowledged brought boosebumps) the Welsh team came together for their traditional pre-match huddle, in front of banks of singing Welsh fans (main photo, close-up in extras).

Ten minutes later we took the lead through what else but a Gareth Bale free kick (extras) to ensure nerves were settled and a hopeful disposition maintained. Into the second half and Slovakia equalised and gained ascendency but some Welsh substitutions and inspired singing from those of us in the stands brought about a winning goal for Wales from Hal Robson Kanu who promptly disappeared under a pile of team-mates (extras).

As one banner put it (extras): "it's been a while" since we made the final stages of major international tournament. This opening win goes a long way toward helping us stay in this one past the group stage.  And the Welsh and Slovak fans showed it is possible to spend a couple of days in foreign city and maintain convivial relations throughout.

Back blips from the rest of the Bordeaux trip will follow, but for now let's revel in this moment. As Max Boyce sang, "I was there!"