COME ON NORTHERN IRELAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Prior to Saturday’s match against Denmark I had been nervous as a kitten for three days. Oddly with the match against Spain imminent and the resolution of our qualifying campaign only hours away, I have lapsed into some manner of Zen-like serenity.

This may be attributable to my non-attendance at the match, an unavoidable consequence of limited holiday leave. Or it may be that in the depths of my soul I have already let go of this campaign, adjudging it a remarkable achievement, but acknowledging somewhere in my subconscious that on this occasion we’re not going to make it.

I suspect that actually it is merely the calm before the storm and that by 7pm tonight my stomach will have clenched into a nauseas knot and a low roar of anxiety will have enveloped my thoughts. As is often the case for the most fraught football matches I watch on television, I am heading home to view it. There I can pass through the agonies only with my father, who will be going through the same.

Perhaps this campaign has delivered the last of its dizzying highs. However I have just a suspicion that perhaps this group of serpentine twists has not offered up its final piece of drama just yet.

Tonight I am a Latvia fan. We’ve had our disagreements, me and the old Latvians as you may or may not recall, but just now I love their nationalism, their language and as far as I’m concerned they can do what they like, as long, AS LONG, as they manage to beat Sweden!

The Northern Ireland team meanwhile, comprises an extraordinarily resolute group of individuals who in forging a unique team spirit have achieved something that far transcends the sum of their constituent parts. They can do something historical in Las Palmas tonight. They have the courage, they have the belief and they certainly have the skill.

So come on Nigel Worthington and the boys. One last push! WHAT ABOUT IT OUR WEE COUNTRY!!!!

Comments

CW said…
A decent performance overall despite the result. Worthington’s not the worst manager around, but he’s a pale shadow of Sanchez. I wonder if Martin O’Neill could be persuaded to take over – a great captain his day who could become a great manager. Prospects for the 2010 World Cup look promising though. Let’s hope NI end up in a qualifying group with the likes of Kazakhstan, San Marino, Andorra, Luxembourg, Armenia and...England!
22 November 2007 at 13:09
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