Smells like team spirit
Thursday October 12 2006
STEVE Staunton asked for his players to show pride in the jersey and for passion from the fans. He got both.
The famous Lansdowne roar was back with a vengeance.
"There is far more fight in them than there was last Saturday against Cyprus," said one supporter approvingly.
The humiliation in Nicosia had created an uneasy atmosphere among the crowd and even though the stadium announcer called out the names of the players on the Irish team with the excitement of a child who had just been told that Santa is coming, there was only a half-hearted cheer in response.
But when the Irish team broke up after Amhran Na bhFiann, and there was a huge roar of approval from the crowd.
None of the Green Army were willing to bid farewell to the glory days of Euro 88 and Italia 90, of which Roddy Doyle, said: "It was one of the great times of my life being from Dublin and I loved being Irish."
If any player epitomised the sort of bone crunching Czech hating Tasmanian Devil that the fans so desperately wanted to see, it was Lee Carsley. The bald-headed one was cheered roundly for every interception he made while the French referee Bernard Layec was booed for any mildly questionable decision he made in favour of the Czechs.
A new generation of heroes was emerging on the pitch alongside him; Stephen Kelly, making a competitive debut for Ireland and Paul McShane, who was coping ably at centre-back with Jan Kohler, the mount Everest of international football.
And even John O'Shea, the villain of Cyprus, was a man transformed and the boos he had been getting back then had turned into cheers.
While the Irish team collectively strained every sinew in their body to suppress the much feared Czechs, Steve Staunton was alternating between his dugout and the extremely small technical area. He would sit quietly and then spring to his feet like a jack-in-the-box, only to be tugged back by the ever vigilant UEFA third official.
The 37-year-old Drogheda man facing into the most difficult night of his short managerial career, vented his frustration when Kevin Kilbane was yellow-carded for an over aggressive tackle. He gestured angrily with his arm and spun around in frustration, but he, like many of the fans, must have been secretly delighted that the bite was back. The fans went into a frenzy when Kevin Kilbane finished Damian Duff's cross to the net with his left foot and then were knocked back into their seats by Jan Kohler equaliser just one minute later.
But this was the Lansdowne Road of old, where the sound of "Come on you boys in green" reverberated around the stadium, along with the delight of a group of supporters rediscovering their faith in a team.
The tension of the contest even flooded into the press box, where some of the taciturn Czech journalists became extremely annoyed when their more excitable Irish counterparts in the rows above them began accidentally kicking the backs of their seats.
There was a sizable contingent of colourful Czech fans in the southern end of the stadium, but they struggled to be heard over the deafening roar of the increasingly passionate Irish crowd. Every tackle, every sprint, every throw-in won against the odds was cheered as if it was a moment of footballing brilliance.
The match programme may have been hopelessly out of date, with its cover star of Richard Dunne (sent off against Cyprus), Andy O'Brien (injured against Cyprus) and Kevin Doyle (injured before he even went to Cyprus).
But the fans knew that what they were seeing before them under the glare of the floodlight was a fresh, raw, authentic Irish performance - which was all they ever wanted from their team.
- Michael Brennan
