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| Incorrigable |
The Euros were sent into disarray this evening as Norn Iron were defeated by Gareth Bale leaving the women of France heartbroken at the departure of Kyle 'Sexy Beast' Lafferty from the tournament.
Lafferty is an international dandy man of much regard having been sent home from Palermo and described by their chairman Maurizo Zamparini as an out of control womaniser and 'an Irishman without rules!'
While Lafferty's exit leaves the women of France distraught, the Repuberlic O' Ireland plan to also break the hearts of the men of France by ejecting their soccer team from the tournament tomorrow afternoon.
As the second smallest country to qualify for the Euros (yes, Iceland really is only 300,000 in population!), the Wee Six counties of Norn Iron made their debut last night against the might of Poland.
Brave, Plucky, determined, courageous - a predictably patronising TV commentary provided the backdrop as ultimately the men from the North lost 1-0. Despite having the prolific Robert Lewandowski up front, Poland squandered a hatful of excellent chances in the first half before taking the lead in the 51st minute through Arka Millik.
Thereafter, Norn Iron were forced to push forward and brought on Conor Washington to support Kyle Lafferty up front. In truth, they created three decent chances in the final 20 minutes and could well have snatched an undeserved point. The game stats tell the story as Poland had the lion's share of possession (65%) and dwarfed Norn Iron in shots taken (11 versus 1).
What Michael O'Neill would give for a Michael Hughes, Jimmy Quinn or Stevie Lomas in his current squad?
It's great to see Norn Iron back on the footballing map and with a team comprising a healthy mixture of players from both of the main traditions of the province. Manager Michael O'Neill has done a fantastic job to steer football away from the narrow bigoted funnel it had become trapped in prior to his arrival. No doubt the Euros will provide the opportunity to look further outward.
One stangeness about the whole affair was the growing blueness of the Norn Iron kit...is it slowly morphing into a Rangers kit? The current strip looks like a hybrid of the colours of Glasgow's auld enemies!
