TV ViewDon't mention the burgers as all the Polish make Ireland look away at home

A friendly between Ireland and Poland on a balmy (if you could afford to have the central heating on in the telly room) February Dublin evening? Sure where would you be going?

The answer to that, initially at least, appeared to be 'not to Lansdowne', the empty seats behind Pete Graves, our Sky Sports' host for the evening, Niall Quinn and Kevin Kilbane (eight million caps between), brrrrrring beside him, looking, well, worringly unoccupied.

But then the camera shifted right, left and centre and, hallelujah, a fair old chunk of Poland had turned, Ireland home, but away, like.

"Polonia Galway," as one banner put it, another Polish flag bedecked with "Ballina". Mighty stuff, all the same.

Anthems . . . "Mars, mars, Dabrowski, Z ziemi wloskiej do Polski, Za twoim przewodem Zlaczym sie z narodem" . . . the away home crowd bellowed, at least according to Google.

Greg Cunningham and Robbie Brady nodded, what else could you do?

"There's a strong ex-pat community in Ireland and in the mainland UK," explained commentator Rob Hawthorne, who, while wishing no ill will on the fella at all, hopefully needed an escort from the stadium later in the evening for that "mainland" slander.

Just one look

Sky Sports, need it be said, Mainland Rob included, were well up for it, but their choice of The Hollies' (note to youngsters: pop combo from the middle-ish bit of the last century) Just One Look for their musicy introduction was, well, curious.

"Just one look, I felt so I, I, I'm in love with you, I found out, How good it feels, To have your love."

Okay Sky, struggling here, what's the story?

"Can't you see, That I really care, Without you, I'm nothin', Just one look, And I knew, I'll get you some day."

Hey? A message from Giovanni Trapattoni to Darron Gibson? Or what?

No, as it proved, Pete, bless him, solving the mystery. "Yeah, just one look, that's all that's left for Giovanni Trapattoni before those vital World Cup qualifiers," said he, Niall and Zinedine nodding like they got the whole Hollies' thing.

What Pete, Niall and Zinedine failed to raise - and it might, to be honest, have been wise because there's really no place in football for burger DNA debates - was the ugly undercurrent to the game, Poznan partying be damned, what about horse-meat-gate?

"Authorities in Poland have said Ireland's naming of Poland as the source of horse meat in supermarket beef burgers was unacceptable and motivated by commercial concerns," as yesterday's IT report put it, leaving you concerned about the bigger picture - like, say, Robert Lewandowski being fired up by this altercation, and celebrating his hat-trick with a Champion the Wonder Horse gallop across the pitch.

Niall and Zinedine, though, persisted with ignoring the issue, instead focussing on the squad our Trap had picked.

And sure, all you could say, really, was God be with the days an Irish supremo could turn up at, say, a Liverpool v Manchester United joust, or a Spurs v Arsenal ding-dong, and say 'thems my boys'.

Now? Derby, Millwall, Hull and the like - no offence . . . but jaysus, like.

Warm tribute

Conor Sammon? "Ah yeah," said Niall, paying a warm tribute to the Derby man, who has been accused of being big and gangly and not much else. Niall, you'd have imagined, could have related to the smear, but opted just to move swiftly on. But look, we triumphed, quite gloriously in the end, 2-0 and laughing.

The topless Polish men in the crowd, who Sky insisted on picking out a lot, the sight of their moobs only occasionally obliterated by those flares, sagged a little when Ciarán 'Lionel Messi' Clark netted the first, the lad, after his experience with Aston Villa this season, appearing not completely sure how to celebrate a happy moment.

Come half-time, Niall and Zinedine suggested Ireland had been a bit on the fortunate side to be a whole goal up, Poland looking a touch more quality-ish, they alleged, but Pete reckoned there was all to play for.

Well, yeah. Soon-ish after. Wes Hoolahan, 2-0. Jeff Hendrick's pass? To think Giovanni claimed this week that we had no Messi. Hello? Game over. Neigh bother.