The key word of the night was family.
The Liverpool and Irish “football families”, as the former club’s chief executive Peter Moore called them, had come together for the occasion. The family that is Meath GAA was there too. But the theme was also echoed by the smaller groups who came in threes, fours and fives to the Aviva Stadium, to get a rare up-close glimpse of their heroes while supporting Seán Cox.
The fives included the Balfe family from Killiney: Ella (11), Samuel (10), Joshua (6), and Daisy (8) and their father David, all wearing Liverpool colours but only one of them old enough to have seen a game involving most of the players who would be turning out in the club’s name later.
Samuel was looking forward to a glimpse of Steven Gerrard in particular. “But what’s the main reason we’re here?” his dad prompted. “To help the man that was hit on the head and got unconscious,” said Samuel, after only the slightest hesitation.
Among those representing Meath GAA, meanwhile, were the Martin family from Kilmessan, including hurler Terry (10), camogie player Katie (7), their father Conor and cousin Tom (7). They were mostly in red, but Tom struck a controversial note by declaring himself, loudly, to be a Chelsea supporter. He was gently corrected by his uncle: “We’re all Liverpool fans tonight.”
Before kick-off, the big screens reminded everyone of the personal tragedy that had befallen Cox, thanks to an unprovoked attack by a Roma “ultra” at a European game last April. There was also a minute’s silence for a tragedy on a much larger scale, the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which claimed 96 lives, and the 30th anniversary of which falls this coming Monday.
Heroes of yesteryear
After that, having been presented to President Michael D Higgins, two teams full of the heroes of yesteryear played out a game the result of didn’t remotely matter, except as a vehicle to raise funds for the rehabilitation which will continue for the rest of Cox’s life.
There were a good few silver heads among the line-ups, and one or two midriffs that were starting to show the benefits of retirement.
But it didn’t take long for Robbie Keane to go slaloming through a crowd of Liverpool defenders like a man who really meant it, firing a shot wide and drawing the first “Ooh!” of the night from the crowd. Then other Robbie – Fowler – did the same at the opposite end, and to everyone’s pleasant surprise, we had a game.
There were even a few boos when the first Robbie had the ball in the net before being ruled offside. That was 15 minutes in, and coincided with the game’s first substitution, as Ronnie Whelan – hero of Euro ’88 – went off with what looked like advanced middle age.
But the warmest applause of the first half came after 21 minutes, when the big screen flashed up pictures of the man himself, watching proudly. It was Seán Cox’s birthday earlier this week, and even if he would never have wished for the circumstances, he was getting a present that few other Liverpool supporters will ever experience.
