Battle-weary fans get back in the saddle
Bank balances were hanging lower than spirits, however, as the beaten brigade of fans rocked the night away with Croats in a rain-soaked Poznan.
The morning was a very different affair. The city had returned to a quainter pace. The square largely empty, there was an air of calm not seen in quite a while.
The voices loudly bellowing out You’ll Never Beat The Irish with Croats after the match were huddled at tables discussing just how the unthinkable had come to pass.
Shane McConnell, Andrew Fox, and Paul Blee had travelled 30 hours to get to the game and admitted being pretty shellshocked by the result.
“I came with blind optimism. I thought we’d win the whole bloody tournament nearly,” said Shane. “It’s desperately disappointing. We came a long way, it was a great atmosphere and it’s a bit deflating.”
“The worst thing is we can’t even enjoy England getting beaten because they are playing France. I don’t know which of them I hate more.
A sentiment echoed by many disappointed Irish fans. We always need a cause to rally around, and if our own looks a bit shaky at the moment, then we will sure as hell follow anybody that beats England.
Another city and another train journey beckons, but for the intrepid Donegalmen, the epic voyages in rickety Polish trains have been something of a highlight.
“It was mighty craic coming here,” said Andrew. “A long one, but it was packed with fans having a party. The train ran out of beer half way through. We completely drank the thing dry. It was great.” Croatia are a new favourite of the Irish fans. No one had a bad word to say about the fans.
In fact, the last night in Poznan had the unusual sight of 150 riot police cordoning Croatia and Ireland fans together to protect them from Polish hooligans. We certainly seemed to enjoy each others’ company. Well at least all except the 11 Croats who took to the field against Trapattoni’s men.
The presence of riot police put a few Irish fans on edge, although the night of partying passed off relatively trouble-free, even though there were skirmishes earlier in the day between some Croatian fans and what looked like hooded Polish hooligans wielding bottles.
One Irish fan who had seen the earlier battles said the scene became a little frightening for fans more used to love-ins rather than fights. “There were chairs involved so it was a little scary at one point,” said Galway man Kevin Mannion. “Lads were covered in blood so it kicked off a little but the cops got it sorted and people chilled out again.”
Six hours to Sopot in any mode of transport was nothing for Offaly’s Kevin Moran. He had come longer than most, being resident in Australia. Given that we haven’t qualified for the Euros since 1988, it was an event he “had to come to” even if a nightmare performance was first up after crisscrossing the globe to see it.
“Gutted about the performance but I suppose you can’t dwell on it,” Kevin said. “I can’t understand why he brought on Simon Cox on the wing and left a winger on the bench.”
“But look, Spain is another game and another chance. They played with no strikers the last night so that’s no way to win games. Although it didn’t look like we had any strikers against Croatia either so what do I know.”
As Poznan gets back to normal, at least for a few days, the bandwagon rolls on to Gdansk. Wheely suitcases at the ready, the Irish have invaded another Polish city.
Poznan was red hot for a party. If the Irish get a result in Gdansk, the mood will be far from Baltic. The mood may be down now, but it’s far from out.
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