WHEN THE Irish team walked on to the field in Poznan on Sunday night, they weren’t so much greeted by the fans as met with a shock of noise with a voltage that had been gathering pace for a full decade. You could see it in their faces when they stood for the national anthem: even the most experienced players looked pale and incredibly solemn. If Ireland had managed to concoct that early, fortuitous goal that fell to Croatia, then maybe the furious loudness that the Irish fans summoned could have fully worked in the team’s favour and could have rattled the Croatians.
Instead, on a night when the team was underwhelming the noise seemed like a constant reminder of just how much the country expects from them. That was at the centre of the players’ thoughts afterwards: it was one of the first things Robbie Keane spoke about in his post-match press conference. And Richard Dunne, too, brought up the subject of the huge warmth emanating from the Irish fans.
A big number of people gathered outside Sheraton Hotel to applaud the players onto the bus and in the stadium itself; the welcome for the Irish team was unforgettably loud and heartfelt.
“It’s still a massive occasion for everyone back home. The people who come over here and spend all their money to come and watch us so we’ve got to make sure when we get there on Thursday, our heads will be right and we’ll go there to win the game.
“Blown away, it was the same every day at our hotel: they’ve been amazing. That is one of the biggest disappointments. They’ve not got the result that they deserve. Hopefully we can turn it around for them.”
Since Ireland’s first European finals appearance in 1988, an unwritten law developed which decreed that the relationship between the Irish fans and their team was the unique element that gave them a distinctive edge. Getting to the finals was always the tricky part: once there, the understanding was that improbable, magnificent days lay in wait. That was why Poznan was such a stunning shock – it signalled the dreadful possibility of Ireland’s campaign being over after just two games.
“We understand that we’ll be written off and not given a chance,” says Dunne. “But we’ve got 180 minutes of football , why not? We’ve beaten bigger teams than Croatia. We can go and win the games. We still believe we can win our group and we just want everyone to keep supporting us.”
Games and legacies hinge on small things. Ireland’s very first European finals match against England will be perpetually remembered for Houghton’s goal.
Forgotten is the way that the English peppered Paddy Bonner’s goal with attack after attack and how the ball just wouldn’t go in: that day seemed fated. On Monday, the small things went against Ireland: the foul on Ward for Jelavic’s goal, the penalty not given to Robbie Keane. It could have been different.
“They weren’t outstanding; it was just lucky breaks on the night. Maybe we had a bit of luck in games on the way here and then on Sunday everything that could have gone against us, did go against us. But we’ve no excuses, we prepared well, we were ready to go and it just didn’t happen for us on the night.”
And so to Gdansk. Ireland are extreme outsiders now. Even the belief of the most enthusiastic fans seemed to falter during those spells of the opening match when the Croatians looked sumptuously comfortable in possession. Now, facing Spain, one of the most technically gifted sides ever assembled, it is down to the Irish players to believe in themselves.
“We have to,” Dunne says. “We came to win all three games. Croatia is a setback without a doubt and we’ve got two really tough games coming up. But this is what we came for, we want to play against the best teams, we want to beat them and see where we are. This is the opportunity that we’ve craved.”
