In-form South Africans prove too hot to handle

THERE were matches aplenty to savour at Belfield yesterday afternoon as the third day of the five-a-side competition drew to a conclusion on the 25 sun-parched pitches at UCD.

Both Irish teams had kicked their last for the day, Ireland (1) having drawn 4-4 with Great Britain (1) in the morning before going down 3-0 to Belarus after lunch, and Ireland (2) being held to a goalless draw by Luxembourg.

So while the choice was unhindered by parochial duty, that meant deciding which contest to watch was at once both a pleasure and an ordeal. Would it be the Middle-Eastern mystery of Azerbaijan versus Iran on pitch four, the clash of Scandinavian cool and Emirate extravagance offered by Iceland and Qatar over on pitch 11 or the girls of Great Britain and the US pitting their skills away in the corner on pitch 18.