Dare to dream as Paris waits
Supporters optimistic as they jet out for final showdown
Monday November 16 2009
On to Paris with hope in our hearts. It's all we have now. The dream hangs by a thread. . . but at least it's still hanging.
A few danced on Giovanni Trapattoni's grave yesterday even though we're just at the half-way stage in the nerve-shredding World Cup play-offs.
One-nil to France and they're in the driving seat. But are they? They scored from a jammy deflection on Saturday: who's to say Trap won't get lucky too on Wednesday?
One football writer said Ireland need "an outlandish miracle" while another sniffed that hope would "rear its ugly head between now and then".
Gloom
Would that really be so bad? Is it really so awful to still hope, to pray we might make the last plane to South Africa?
The fans don't think so. They still want this. No amount of Budget gloom or news about NAMA or more job losses could poison the sweet feeling generated by a summer World Cup involving Ireland.
As they emerged from Croke Park on Saturday night, they were already plotting the path to the Stade de France, comparing flight plans, asking for hotel recommendations.
In the chilly night air, the questions came thick and fast. "Aer Lingus or Ryanair? Three-star or four-star? Are there Irish pubs nearby? Will I need a warm coat?"
With just 8,500 tickets officially allocated, the race is on to source more with exiles in London, Paris and Brussels among the thousands of extra Irish supporters expected to decamp to the French capital.
But whatever the details, most agreed on one thing: Forget the doom merchants.
Some supporters held up the back of the night's match programme which carried a picture of Trap (with apologies to Barack Obama). Underneath the portrait was that much scorned word: Hope.
"What if we score in the first 20 minutes? It'll be game on again. Sure anything could happen," said one man, defiant and refusing to let go.
For 71 minutes on a buzzing Saturday evening with the cold snapping at the 74,500 crowd, Ireland held the French at bay and even had a few chances.
By 8pm Croke Park was a seething cauldron of noise and colour, the din warming the senses and setting the tone.
As 'La Marseillaise' rang out, the 2,000 French fans huddled on Hill 16 were joined by the rest of stadium as the crowd sang, or rather hummed, along. 'Amhrán na bhFiann' almost took the roof off.
It was tense and it was nervy and at times it seemed France oozed skill and guile from every pore -- but they looked far from superior.
But at 9.29pm, with 19 minutes left, the French got what they wished for. Nicolas Anelka's weak shot, veering wide, hit Sean St Ledger's boot, grazed Shay Given's left-hand post and slipped over the line. It was precisely the kind of thing Ireland will require on Wednesday evening: a large slice of luck.
- Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
