Same story... different ending

IT WAS a faintly eerie feeling to sit high up in the press box before kick-off in the GSP Stadium on Saturday night and take in a scene which suggested time had stood still.

As was the case three years ago, this was a competitive international football match played out in front of a vast expanse of empty seats, with most of what passed for atmosphere being generated by the travelling support. Far off to the north, carved into the face of the mountain range which provides a dramatic backdrop to the divided Cypriot capital, the huge illuminated Turkish flag still flashed its proud and provocative message into the inky blankness. And, closer to our bird’s nest vantage point, the traffic on the busy motorway beside the stadium continued to roll by, seemingly indifferent to the sporting contest taking place a hundred yards away. In short, same as it ever was on Ireland’s all too frequent trips to the eastern Mediterranean island.

And, as it turned out on yet another squeaky bum night for the Irish in Nicosia, same as it ever was on the pitch too – right up until the welcome reprieve of Robbie Keane’s late winning goal.