Our man in a van: We’re nearing the end of the road... and hoping Ireland aren’t

It feels appropriate that we’ve parked for the night in Tours, to break up our mammoth, 900km trip from Bordeaux to Lille.

We’ve been reliably informed that the city in the Touraine region of the Loire Valley was historically a stopping-off point for pilgrims heading south towards the Camino walk.

Though headed in the opposite direction, many of the Irish faithful are stopping here for the evening, before heading the rest of the way, on their own pilgrimage of sorts, towards Lille.

We broke the 1,000km mark with the van after leaving Bordeaux.

It’s fair to say we won’t be sorry to hand the keys back, later this week, and have the driving aspect of the trip completed.

While all supporters going to the three-game group stages are clocking up serious miles, the envy amid those of us going by road is as green as our shirts, when those travelling by train moan about the long hauls on the TGV. Oh, the poor lambs.

I’ve been fortunate enough that my buddy has undertaken the hardest slog of the trip by doing the driving.

But making sure we’re on the right high-roads and byroads, checking our lanes to make sure we’re not veering over to the right too much, and watching out for entitled French drivers merging from our blind side, means the commute is a two-man job. I’m definitely coming off the lighter of the two of us, in this regard, however.

Still, we’ll soldier on, and know that by the time we have the van parked up in Lille, the worst of the travelling will be over — for the group stage, that is.

Yes, despite that hammering we took on Saturday, we still believe that this team can pull off the win we need on Wednesday — as with all things football or otherwise, our faith is based on hope, rather than proof.

One of the big draws for pilgrims in Tours is the Basilique St-Martin, constructed to commemorate the city’s bishop, who was conscripted into the Roman army, only to defy orders, due to his Christian faith.

Here’s hoping there’s a canonisation on the cards for another Martin, for the miracle he’ll perform against the Romans’ descendants this week..

Sense of déjà vu as deflation follows elation

- Joe Leogue

Physically, they were in Bordeaux 2016, but the minds were back in 2012.

There was a deflated atmosphere following the result against Belgium on the Quai Sainte-Croix along the Garonne, and in the environs of the Gare St-Jean, where dejected fans were boarding their trains out of Bordeaux.

A comprehensive beating at the hands of one of the tournament favourites, ahead of a group closer against Italy for many it was all too familiar.

For Daragh and Conor Walsh and Peter Wright from Ennis, Co Clare, it was Poland all over again.

“At half time it didn’t look like it was going that way, Belgium had most of the play, but the way we were set up in a game like that it was bound to happen. It was Spain in Gdansk all over again. Stupid mistakes, stupid goals,” Daragh said.

They’re following the Boys in Green for the duration of Ireland’s participation in the Euros. “We’ll stay on until the end, the Italy game is a must win. I’d be more optimistic before the Belgium game, but Conte is going to change around the team a bit, put in four or five new players, so it’ll give us a bit of hope,” he said.

“At least we know now going into the game that only a win will do.”

Chris and Frances Nolan from Bray got off the tramline at the train station with 11-year-old Christopher.

“Disappointed and sad,” was Christopher’s summation of his feelings after the game, though the trio are still heading onto Lille — though that’s as far as they’ll go regardless of whether the Irish team progress out of the group stages or not.

“He has to go to school,” Frances laughed.

“Mrs Kelly thinks you’re in school, doesn’t she?” Chris joked.

He remained upbeat that a win on Wednesday is possible. “We beat the Germans, so we can beat the Italians,” he said.

Eamon McQuinn from Belfast is among a group who had optimistically booked tickets for what they hope will be Ireland’s fixture in the first knockout round, though some in his party swapped their tickets to get into Saturday’s game instead.

“We had tickets for the last 16, but a few of the boys used them as currency to trade them as currency for the Belgium game. Match tickets for Belgium were going for €250, so they got them for something like €180 and the last 16 tickets,” he said.

“We’re not quite hopeful at the moment, to be honest, but you never know. We might get third place. The Italians will put out kids and you never know,”

“Ah lads, we’re on the way home; sin é, sin é, sin é,” a passer-by chipped in.

Conor Emerson and Ian Madden from Glasnevin in Dublin said they weren’t too surprised at the result.

“If you look at the players, when things get difficult, you see them for what they are against a decent European side. Technically they’re not really good enough, there’s no real plan going forward. It’s a plan to defend and frustrate,” Conor said.

Ian said it was the type of game Ireland “could only win 1-0”.

“We’re not going to score too many goals, there’s too big a gap between Shane Long and midfield,” he said.

The pair won’t be heading on to watch the team in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy on Wednesday.

“Our wives won’t let us,” Ian said.

Now it’s on to Lille — with a performance that will hopefully replace talk of Gdansk with memories of Giants’ Stadium.