Fog lifts in Faroes, but not for fans who ‘mist’ match
And the Irish team were still on the island last night when their scheduled flight home was fog-bound after the match.
The game was mostly a dull encounter, just like the weather, which closed the of the island’s main airport.
Clinton Morrison buried the ball in the net in the first six minutes but the goal was subsequently disallowed for offside.
By the end of the first half, neither team had succeeded in getting on the fog-veiled scoreboard.
The Faroe Islands began the second half by exchanging high fives, not realising that goalie Jakup Mikkelsen would soon crush such confidence with a costly tackle in the 50th minute.
Behind the fog, the scoreboard registered Ian Harte’s penalty, his second goal in as many games.
The board sparked into action a short time later when captain Oli Johannesen steered Kevin Kilbane’s first goal for Ireland for almost two years beyond Mikkelsen, and the fog over the Irish contingent lifted, figuratively.
Sloppy play continued through the rest of the 2-0 game at the Torsvollur Stadium in Torshavn.
The diehard Irish fans, who had purchased short-break trips to the North Atlantic islands for the match, and were left stranded, didn’t miss much.
One flight, which was to carry 92 passengers for an overnight stay, never made it due to heavy fog.
Dublin Airport Authority also confirmed that other airlines and tour operators were forced to cancel around three flights to the islands due to dense fog.
A spokesman for Celtic Horizon Tours advised the fans who failed to get out to the Faroe Islands, in the North Atlantic ocean halfway between Iceland and Norway, to claim off their travel insurance.
“It is events like this that highlight the importance of it,” he said of the fans, who had paid €569 for the one-night package, as well as €49 tax and €40 for a match ticket.
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