Sporting brings nearly 700 fans to Oviedo for long-awaited derby

Sporting’s travelling “Mareona” gathered at El Cristo before heading to Carlos Tartiere for a derby that had been missing for a year. Nearly 700 red-and-white fans met from early afternoon and the atmosphere started building as the march to the stadium got closer.

Roque Álvarez summed up the feeling of reunion, while José Ángel Sánchez said it “is more heated than other years” and recalled his first trip to the old Tartiere: “It was with Juanele, we won.” Dani López added that “it’s hard for it not to be a controversial match.”

Red-and-white crowd day

Supporters arrived with Police escort and strong security measures, and much of the afternoon went through the ticket draw and pickup point at El Cristo. Club figures José Riestra, Joaquín Alonso, Jorge Morales and Jiménez were also there. María del Carmen Llorca— a Sporting member for 55 years and now honorary member—told Riestra “some pending issues,” including that the tickets should not be collected “in El Cristo, but in El Molinón.”

By 19:45, the fans had already taken their place inside the stadium after a descent described as “like a marathon” from the Law Faculty area, in roughly ten minutes packed with flags and chants. “Win, win and keep winning,” Ana Rodríguez said before going in, according to Sport.