A visit to Walsall to watch an Under 17 Euro Qualifier

An early start to the day began with a four am departure from my aunt's house in Kildare. I headed for Dublin Airport to catch my London Stansted flight having attended the China match at Lansdowne Road on the previous evening. I was already aware that the Coach originally booked for the journey to Walsall had been cancelled due to lack of numbers. This was understandable given the fact that so many people from the Club had travelled to Israel at the weekend and upon return had then crossed to Dublin for the China game. It was going to be the car that would transport my four colleagues and me ‘ the Walsall Five’ to the match. The situation for the game itself was clear before a ball was kicked, Ireland had to beat England by two clear goals to go through to the final stages. England were on six points while Ireland and Serbia & Montenegro were both on three. On the head to head rules applicable to the competition, Serrbia and Montenegro were out of contention. The journey began at O'Rafferty's in Wood Green and it was not long before the first obstacle of the night presented itself. The traffic on the M1 just outside Hemel Hempsted creating a delay pattern which continued on the M6 outside Coventry. At the prescribed kick-off time of 7.00pm the Walsall Five were still making their way through the M6 traffic round Birmingham. The troupe finally reached the Bescot Stadium fifteen minutes after kick off. The Bescot Stadium is a subutteo type ground in the middle of an industrial estate outside of town. The M6 motorway is barely eighty yards from the ground, however access is just a shade more complicated. As we entered the ground, which was not segregated for this match, we spotted Club Member and local resident Dave Gorman sitting towards the front of the stand. Behind Dave sat a party of youngsters looking like a creche being initiated in the requirements of supporting the host country in the future. As we joined Dave, the vision of the infamous Boston Celtics jacket which has carried Tommy Feely round the globe induced a raucous and almost indecipherable chorus of “ appreciation” from the ‘trainees’. Dave brought us up to date with proceedings so far, amidst an environment reminiscent of an infant school playground. The ‘creche crew’ in their matching shirts, rings and big gold chains were rather active, running around the place, jumping over seats and playing tag with the occasional joust thrown in for good measure. In the match itself, Ireland's goalkeeper Stepen Henderson was called into action frequently as England applied severe pressure and he pulled of a cracking save towards the end of the first half. The scenario brought back memories of Stuttgart 1988. For Ireland, Liverpool midfielder James Ryan was prominent in everything positive attempted by our team. England scored immediately following the start of the second half. Ireland conceded a free just over the half way line and were caught napping by a speedily taken kick which released the winger down the right. The ball was crossed into the penalty area where Hogan Ephriam of West Ham had a simple task to guide the ball into the net. Shortly afterwards, England had Wolves midfielder, Mark Davies sent off for a second bookable offence. The dismissal broked a torrent of threatening abuse towards the referee from one particular ‘ adult fan’ who was accompanied by a young child. Hardly the example to set in this or indeed any sporting environment. A short while later, Ireland were desperately unlucky when James Ryan struck a free kick from out on the left flank, Ronaldino style, the ball hit the underside of the bar and stayed out. Soon after, England got a second goal similar to their opener with the ball being played across the face of goal and with the Irish defence reacting slowly,Stephen Henderson was exposed and unable to prevent Southampton starlet Theo Walcott from tapping the ball in unmarked at the far post. Shortly afterwards, Ireland were also reduced to ten players when young Norwich City centre back, Micheal Spillane who had celebrated his 16th birthday only days earlier was caught for pace and his mistimed tackle from behind resulted in his dismissal. A glimmer of hope shone for Ireland when James Ryan scored a spectacular goal. Ryan found a little space on the right flank and from what appeared to be an impossible angle curled a fantastic shot into the roof of the net. A goal that the irrepressible Liam Brady would have been proud to score. The hope was sadly short lived as almost immediately following the restart an Irish attack was broken up by the England left back who released James Vaughan to score the final heartbreaking goal. At the final whistle, disappointment was etched on the faces of the young Irish players who despite their best efforts were defeated by a stronger and extremely pacy England team. It is sad that the hard work put in by Sean McCaffrey and his support team was not rewarded with success and that this talented group of youngsters will not have the opportunity to grace the Championship Finals in Italy later this year. We left the ground to the sound of Tony Christie's ''Show me the way to Amarillo'' chorused by the ‘creche crew’ , echoing in the background. Our minds were now set on getting home and we wondered how France and Israel had fared. The news from Tel Aviv that Israel had replicated their late equaliser scenario lightened our mood and lifted some of the disappointment we felt for the young players who had given their all for Ireland. We got back to O'Rafferty's at 10.55 pm. A door to door journey of two hours was in stark contrast to the outgoing journey. While 80% of the Walsall Five had a soothing pint, the driver, yours truly, had a well deserved lemonade. Sylvester ''Sylvo'' Melady.