The end of a rollercoaster ride

FIFTEEN months, a dozen games, 21 goals. Yep, it has been one hell of a ride with the biggest thrill saved for last and enough intrigue away from the field to convert even the most ardent of football-phobes.

Whatever happens now, we will always have Paris but it will also go down as the last campaign in which we called Croke Park home and when Stephen Ireland and Andy Reid dominated so many headlines.

Damien Duff claimed earlier this week that Ireland hadn’t enjoyed much luck in their efforts to reach South Africa but that was an airbrushed version of history.