London lights bring best out of Ireland

Republic of Ireland 0 Italy 0

Just over 22,000 was the figure for the game against Italy in Fulham on Saturday night — but that’s where any similarities between the two occasions began and ended.

Meaningless end of season friendly? The Cottage might be small but it positively crackled with big match atmosphere from well before kick-off. When the first team coach pulled up outside the ground, it sparked a manic reaction on the street, as hundreds of besotted expatriate fans of the Azzurri rushed to get as close to their heroes as they could.