A dream so near but yet so far

NO REGRETS. It was the buzz phrase of choice for Ireland as they assembled for their date with destiny in Paris but, watching Shay Given and Robbie Keane haul their broken hearts from the Stade de France turf last night, those two small words rang horribly hollow.

This was an evening to swell the chests of Irish supporters everywhere, a performance of doughty defiance laced with the occasional splash of shimmering quality, and yet, by the end, what could the travelling army and their side take with them other than the anguished thoughts of what might have been?

The sorrow was not simply at defeat or even the sickening manner of it, South Africa snatched away by Thierry Henry’s sneaky left palm. Instead, it flowed from the chastening realisation that Given, Keane and many more now look tasting the footballing elixir that is a World Cup finals.