For May 24th I'm going back 10 years to 2011 and the Republic of Ireland's game against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
This game formed part of a trip to Dublin for me and my Welsh mate Les where we managed to fit in four matches in four days. The Carling-sponsored Nations Cup provided three of those games and we were in luck with the scheduling when we managed to squeeze in a League of Ireland game too (more about that later in the week). As you can see from the cover, each programme covered two matches and I went to both matches listed which were played on consecutive days. The four days spent in Dublin represented the perfect football trip as far as I am concerned with plenty of time for beers and sightseeing when we weren't at the football. Admittedly, a few "professional Scotsmen" did attempt to spoil my enjoyment by congregating in the tourist hotspots in their "look at me" kilts and tartan regalia but we managed to ignore them throughout.
The Nations Cup was an attempt at reviving the so-called Home Championships and apparently England were invited to take part but had declined citing fixture congestion. Disappointingly, the tournament, which involved the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, proved to be a one season wonder. With all games being played in Dublin, the average attendance was less than 12,500 and the Aviva Stadium was less than half full for all six matches. The FA of Ireland were criticised for the high ticket prices and the game between Wales and Northern Ireland attracted an official attendance of only 529 (including me!)
Given the political history of Ireland, meetings between the Republic and the North aren't as unusual as you might think. Admittedly, the first eight games between the two arose as result of being in the same Qualification Groups but there have been other meetings since although none since 1999. I was interested to experience the atmosphere at such a match but there really wasn't any great tension between the two to write home about. Admittedly, the home fans did boo the North's national anthem (God Save the Queen) but that's hardly an unusual occurrence at any international football match and, to keep things even, the North's fans booed the President of Ireland, Mary McAleese when she was greeting the two teams. Allegedly the North's fans attempted some sectarian chanting but there were so few of them (only 210 at this game) as a result of the decision of the majority to boycott the game that it passed me by (the overall attendance was a little over 15,000).
There was some York City interest for me with Northern Ireland that night in manager Nigel Worthington and 17-year old debutant Josh Carson although I didn't know it at the time as their respective glory days at York City were still ahead of them. Carson, who went on to earn only four caps, certainly looked lively in the early exchanges.
Giovanni Trapattoni's Republic side, (playing in green and white), got the better of Northern Ireland (playing in white and green) in the first half and went in at the break three up and with the game effectively over following goals from Stephen Ward (another debutant), Robbie Keane and an OG from Craig Cathcart. A further two goals in the second half from Robbie Keane (penalty) and Simon Cox gave the Republic a convincing five-nil victory which I'm sure Mary McAleese enjoyed greatly. Incidentally, Scotland beat Wales 3-1 the next day and the few Scottish fans in attendance celebrated their "Freeeeeeedom" long into the Dublin night.
CRB Match No. 1819
Comments
Post a Comment