Away days: Amazing if you win, awful if you lose
If you follow your team around the country, you’ll be aware of the feeling that you get when you’re travelling back from an away game having lost the match.
A home loss hurts, but at least you’ll be home within 30 minutes. A close-by away loss stings a little more, but, again, at least you can be home in an hour or two. An away day that requires over five hours travel is the absolute worse, it feels like you won’t be home for a good day or two.
So, considering that, take a minute and spare a thought for a football team from Tahiti who had to travel 20,000 miles for a cup game on Saturday.
Ten-time champions of Tahiti, AS Venus – a side from French Polynesia – endured a 20,000-mile round trip over the weekend, only to lose the tie 2-0.
Tonight, AS Vénus from Tahiti play against Trélissac in the Coupe de France – an away day journey of nearly 16,000km. I'm presuming if it's a draw they don't do a replay in Tahiti. pic.twitter.com/yC4suOtxd3
— Paul Watson (@paul_c_watson) November 13, 2021
Due to their recent domestic success, the side qualified for the French Cup – which features teams from a variety of France’s overseas territories.
This saw them face-off against Trelissac – a side who compete in Championnat National 2 (Group D) in France – who secured a comfortable 2-0 victory.
Before the match, Venus head coach Samuel Garcia told the Oceania Football Confederation that his team were “happy to be in France”.
If Venus would have won the match, they would have secured a home tie in round eight. However, they will now return to league action, attempting to defend their Coupe de Polynesie title which earned them their place in the competition.
The round-trip distance has comfortably eclipsed JS Saint-Pierroise’s 10,000-mile journey to French fourth-tier side Trelissac in 2020.
Saint-Pierroise reached the last 32 of a competition, with most of the other clubs coming from the mainland – a distance of 6,000 miles away.
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