Republic Of Ireland vs. Germany - A Fan's View

The Republic of Ireland and Germany's European Championship qualifier ended in a 0-0 draw in a packed Croke Park on Saturday night. Normally a competitive qualifying game against such illustrious opposition would involve an exciting build-up and tense atmosphere generated by an expectant full house.

On the night, the Irish crowd got behind the boys in green but appeared to have already accepted that the team's best opportunity of qualifying for a major tournament would have to wait until the next (World Cup) campaign. All the fans required was a performance full of effort, passion and commitment and they certainly got it from a determined Irish team.

The German fans travelled to Dublin in huge numbers and were in great voice in the Drumcondra pubs just hours before the match. News of the inclusion of both Joey O'Brien and Andy Keogh in the starting line up was the main talking point amongst Irish fans in the run up to the game. O'Brien's inclusion was generally accepted as it was forced upon Steve Staunton due to an injury to John O'Shea. Keogh's appearance on the right wing caused many raised eyebrows in the local taverns as either Liam Miller or Aidan McGeady was expected to start ahead of the Wolves striker.

In the Stadium, video clips displaying highlights of the Irish team's qualifying campaign brought the crowd to life just prior to kick off but the tension that was evident before the Slovakia game was definitely absent. Even in the warm up the German player’s exuded supreme confidence looking every bit like a team that had already qualified for the European Championships. The Germans were making all the noise from Hill 16 with a sea of black and white chanting and jumping in unison. The Irish responded in kind with the canal end rising to their feet with a chorus of 'Stand up for the boys in green' as the atmosphere finally began to crackle.

Steve Staunton's pre-match comments in the official programme were telling: "I believe in 11 months time when we kick off the World Cup qualifying campaign that we will have a squad strong enough to have a good shot at making it to South Africa". In other words the Irish manager was clearly stating that the current campaign was all but over and to wait for the World Cup qualifiers. Unfortunately a sizeable portion of fans in my section of the stand begged to differ. Many Irish fans chanted to have the ex-International full back removed from his managerial post as soon as possible.

There were plenty of goalmouth incidents throughout a lively match to keep the home fans on their feet. Robbie Keane’s glaring miss brought the loudest groan of the night when the Spurs striker snatched at a chance with only Jens Lehman to beat. The biggest laugh of the night was reserved for the Croke Park Stadium announcer who inadvertently referred to the visiting side as West Germany. A Freudian slip if ever there was one!

When a Mexican wave began to flow across the stands with 15 minutes still remaining you knew the fans had mentally switched off as the game inched towards a 0-0 draw. Despite the final result you just felt the Germans could have gone up a gear or two if they absolutely needed the win.

The general consensus afterwards was that Ireland had played as well as they have in any of their other qualifiers to date but lacked the creativity and quality in the final third of the pitch to really trouble the Germans. There was plenty perspiration but - apart from Andy Reid - little inspiration.

Ger McCarthy