St Ledger: Topsy-turvy year might have one more twist

Republic of Ireland defender Sean St Ledger, who suffered such mixed emotions when he scored in Sunday’s opening game against Croatia but ended up on the losing side, is hoping a football season full of unpredictable and inexplicable results has one last miracle up its sleeve.

Irish hopes of reaching the quarter-finals at Euro 2012 look to be shaky after losing 3-1 in their opening match but Leicester City defender St Ledger is still daring to dream and said: “I still believe. There was an upset already in this tournament with Denmark beating Holland and why can’t it happen again? Spain are a good side, but Italy held out against them for a draw. So why can’t we?

“It’s not going to be easy but it’s been a year of weird results; it’s been a great year for football in fact.