Estonia V Ireland - Friday, 11th November 2011 - Euro 2012 Play Off 1st Leg

[nigel-harps1954]

ive been informed its going to be absolutely freezing out there. Ive also been informed of something else which I would not like to disclose of right now.


Herpes?

[French Toasht]

Who cares? Why even bother quoting those bitter, twisted pieces of garbage. All it highlights for me is how terrible the soccer supporters are up there compared to the rugby fans, some real gents support Ulster. Seem to be a pile of utter ****s who support NI soccer.


It really is pathetic. Reminds me of how they started singing "There's only one Thierry Henry", during a match that they were beaten by the mighty Albania.

They really need to brush those chips off their shoulder.

[Closed Account]

In retrospect looking at this group for the 2010 qualifiers, what a hellish group it was. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIFA_World_Cup_qualification_%E2%80%93_UEFA_G roup_5

All 6 of those teams were in a potential qualifying position into the last day. 1 is qualified and 3 are in the playoffs. Led to a lot of those teams being underrated and underseeded coming into this campaign as we found out with Armenia.
Good spot, it also highlights how dominant Spain are at the moment. 100% record, and didn't concede a goal at home.

[French Toasht]

Must admit I do feel sorry for Bosnia. Look likely to miss out again, having come so close to automatic qualification by 12 minutes. Must be feeling like we did after the Macedonia 99 debacle.

[Murfinator]

I wouldn't count them out at all against Portugal. Neither teams will be happy with that draw. If it goes as expected though at least its a young side like Belgium who'll have more chances to bring their golden generation to the big stage. Would not like to have either in our WC qualifying group.

[geysir]

ive been informed its going to be absolutely freezing out there. .
If you call november weather absolutely freezing, what would you call the weather when they have their real winter, in february?


Ive also been informed of something else which I would not like to disclose of right now
a malicious, scurrilous newspaper slur campaign against your good name, no doubt :)

[Hibs4Ever]

Must admit I do feel sorry for Bosnia. Look likely to miss out again, having come so close to automatic qualification by 12 minutes. Must be feeling like we did after the Macedonia 99 debacle.


I reckon they'll beat Portugal

[paul_oshea]

If you call november weather absolutely freezing, what would you call the weather when they have their real winter, in february?



I think that was with respect to what we Irish are used to, at least one can only assume :)

[Charlie Darwin]

I've been to Estonia in February. ****ing Baltic in every sense of the word.

[geysir]

I've been to Estonia in February. ****ing Baltic in every sense of the word.
February?
It's -13C in the shade, you're heroically trudging your way down the street towards the off-license, the steps are getting slower by the stride, when you get hit by the baltic wind at the intersection.

[Charlie Darwin]

It's a nice spot alright. Walking around Riga for 8 hours was also fun.

[French Toasht]

Ok don't get me wrong I don't want to get ahead of myself here but ...


This could be the first time we qualify for a tournament in Dublin.

Euro 88 : Qualification secured after a match in Sofia between Bulgaria and Scotland.

WC 1990: Qualification secured after a 2-0 win in Malta.

WC 1994: Qualification secured after a 1-1 draw with NI in Belfast.

WC 2002: Qualification secured after a 1-0 defeat to Iran in Tehran. (2-1 victory on aggregate.)

Euro 2012: Qualification in Landsdowne vs Estonia?????

Twud be some night in Coppers!!

[Stuttgart88]

Was going to go to the away match and not the home game, but Toashtie has probably changed my mind for me.

[ifk101]

http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro2012/news/newsid=1696105.html

"I won't deny the fact that we wanted to face Ireland more than the others. Maybe the experience of our victories against Northern Ireland will help us. Both teams have the same British style of football".

[French Toasht]

I think they are using NI as a yard stick for what to expect against us.

Lulled into a false sense of security. Perfect.

[dynamo kerry]

I think they are using NI as a yard stick for what to expect against us.

Lulled into a false sense of security. Perfect.


This is a wierd statement. A country with a much lower ranking, less pedigree in players in terms of divisions played in is hardly comparable. I was going to say qualifying but we are only slightly ahead in that regard but even still to suggest the teams are anything close to comparable... well I guess it depends on how you look at it.

We see ourselves as been much better but to the rest of the world, what is the difference really...

How many players do we have with experience of play offs apart from the french game?
Given, Keane, Duff, Kilbane, Dunne?

You've got to have killer in the squad or at least around for this - his experience may be useful if only to help prepare..Kilbane as future coach anyone?

Once again those 3 qualifying campaigns with no results has really stripped the team of experience of these situations.

I still expect us to win but it won't be easy.

[theworm2345]

Going to be a long month of waiting...wish I could come over this one :(

[peadar1987]

I'm thinking pretty seriously about heading over for this, anybody know what the story is with getting tickets for the away leg? And with getting there, I'd be coming over from the UK, and the way flights are, it'd probably be Stockholm on the Thursday night. Stu mentioned something about a ferry?

[zero]

Going to be a long month of waiting...wish I could come over this one :(

i think the rest of the fans will be glad if you don't. rain is one thing like...

looking at the estonian squad, we really should beat these without too much drama. i reckon they're inferior to armenia, maybe a bit better than macedonia.

[French Toasht]

I'm thinking pretty seriously about heading over for this, anybody know what the story is with getting tickets for the away leg? And with getting there, I'd be coming over from the UK, and the way flights are, it'd probably be Stockholm on the Thursday night. Stu mentioned something about a ferry?


I read I think on RTE, Irish fans will get an allocation of 1,000 tickets for the game. Its a 10,300 seater stadium.

Yeah it was me that mentioned the catamaran from Stockholm. Basically fly as cheaply as you can to either Stockholm or Helsinki and get the Silja line cruise to Tallinn. I've caught this several times going from Sweden to Estonia, to get cheaper booze. It has never cost me more than €18 return but they do special deals from time to time, for example the cruise this weekend week is €2.

The link is http://www.tallinksilja.com/sv/special/mailx/mailxTallinn.htm

You tend to get the better deals on the Swedish language version but here is the English homepage:

http://www.tallinksilja.com/en/


If you Ryanair it to Stockholm and book the cruise, your return journey will come to no more than €100. The boat is unbelievable craic.

[peadar1987]

I read I think on RTE, Irish fans will get an allocation of 1,000 tickets for the game. Its a 10,300 seater stadium.

Yeah it was me that mentioned the catamaran from Stockholm. Basically fly as cheaply as you can to either Stockholm or Helsinki and get the Silja line cruise to Tallinn. I've caught this several times going from Sweden to Estonia, to get cheaper booze. It has never cost me more than €18 return but they do special deals from time to time, for example the cruise this weekend week is €2.

The link is http://www.tallinksilja.com/sv/special/mailx/mailxTallinn.htm

You tend to get the better deals on the Swedish language version but here is the English homepage:

http://www.tallinksilja.com/en/


If you Ryanair it to Stockholm and book the cruise, your return journey will come to no more than €100. The boat is unbelievable craic.


It'll be the ticket to the game that'll be the major problem I reckon. A lot more than 1000 Irish are going to want to head over, even with the game being on a Friday night. I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world just to head over to the city, and find a decent bar. I've never done an away trip before, but I've heard most of the craic happens outside the ground anyway.

[Targetman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNt2jnxMgbs&feature=related

All the Estonia goals in the qualifying round. Like the Armenians looks like that they are not afraid to take a pot from long range. The defending from the Nordies in the 4-1 game was comical, gifted them 2 goals. They were also 4 mins away from loosing to the Faroes at home as well. With there manager thinking we have a similar style of play to NI, I think he is in for a shock. We should be confident heading into these games, without taking them for granted, and like a poster previously mentioned without making them out to be world beaters.

[paul_oshea]

We play just like NI and the old british style, hoof the ball to the forward bypass the midfield at every opportunity what is anyone else thinking?

I find it comical that people actually think we dont play that way. IN fact maybe that is part of Traps problem.

[French Toasht]

We play just like NI and the old british style, hoof the ball to the forward bypass the midfield at every opportunity what is anyone else thinking?

I find it comical that people actually think we dont play that way. IN fact maybe that is part of Traps problem.

Yes we may play a similar style but I think the difference between us and NI is we're actually good.

[pineapple stu]

Stu mentioned something about a ferry?
I mentioned a ferry from Helsinki, which is another option (except Aer Lingus don't fly to Helsinki in November)

[Targetman]

We play just like NI and the old british style, hoof the ball to the forward bypass the midfield at every opportunity what is anyone else thinking?

I find it comical that people actually think we dont play that way. IN fact maybe that is part of Traps problem.

In my opinion we are superior in style to NI, and we dont bypass the whole midfield when in possession, just the centre, we get the ball out to the wingers when opportunities arise. Anyway what I was getting at in the previous post, is that out style of football means that we seldom give goals away, so that the Estonians should not expect to get goals handed to them on a plate like they did in the first NI game.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Dunno if this question has been asked and answered already but -is there a precedent for a team losing 4 qualifiers making it to the playoffs in the previous four Euros where there's been a playoff? I know we lost three in the Euro 96 qualification.

[DannyInvincible]

I'm thinking pretty seriously about heading over for this, anybody know what the story is with getting tickets for the away leg? And with getting there, I'd be coming over from the UK, and the way flights are, it'd probably be Stockholm on the Thursday night. Stu mentioned something about a ferry?

Via the Stockholm ferry looks the cheapest route. Ryanair do return flights out of Gatwick and Stansted on the Thursday. You could get over on the Thursday and back on the Sunday for £25 or thereabouts if I'm looking at this correctly: http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/uk/stoc/111110/111113/cheapest-flights-from-united-kingdom-to-stockholm-in-november-2011.html

You'll notice the price is actually cheaper on the Ryanair site itself.

[Cabs88]

pleased with the draw, but weary at the same time! The nature of how we play means we wont lose heavily or win big against any team, and I can see the tie in the balance in the second half in the aviva..

A point brought up about tickets, those with stubs for armenia game get first preference. What is the general procedure for this? Would it matter if the tickets were got from ticketmaster? Id imagine there will be a big demand for second leg tickets

[ifk101]

Via the Stockholm ferry looks the cheapest route. Ryanair do return flights out of Gatwick and Stansted on the Thursday. You could get over on the Thursday and back on the Sunday for £25 or thereabouts if I'm looking at this correctly: http://www.skyscanner.net/flights/uk/stoc/111110/111113/cheapest-flights-from-united-kingdom-to-stockholm-in-november-2011.html

You'll notice the price is actually cheaper on the Ryanair site itself.

It's about 15/16 hours on the ferry between Stockholm and Tallinn. ;) Ryanair airport for Stockholm is a good hour outside the city as well.

[Bungle]

I think the best way to view Estonia is to ask ourselves the question; if this was two ordinary group games, how many points would we feel that we would/should take off them? I would say 6 points and I'm sure most on here would say the same thing.

I just hope that Trap and the Irish team play positively to get a win/away goal over there. Does anyone know if they have any suspensions/injury concerns?

My predicion:
Estonia 1 Ireland 2
Ireland 2 Estonia 0

[French Toasht]

Yes Skavsta airport is not actually is in Stockholm it's in Nyköping, but a bus will take you from directly outside the airport to the central terminal in Stockholm and from there its easy to get to the ferry.

IFK bor du i Sverige också?

[ifk101]

IFK bor du i Sverige också?

Visst gör jag det. Med fru, barn och Volvo. Men det är en hemlighet. Du ska inte berätta det för nån. ;)

[IsMiseSean]

A point brought up about tickets, those with stubs for armenia game get first preference. What is the general procedure for this? Would it matter if the tickets were got from ticketmaster? Id imagine there will be a big demand for second leg tickets

Just seen that tickets are going on sale on the ticketmaster website tomorrow from 3pm.
No mention of stubs from the Armenia game being needed, so does this mean its a free-for-all??

[Bungle]

Looking at wikipedia, they would seem to be without Sergei Zenjov, who has gotten two yellow cards.

[theworm2345]

Yes Skavsta airport is not actually is in Stockholm it's in Nyköping, but a bus will take you from directly outside the airport to the central terminal in Stockholm and from there its easy to get to the ferry.

IFK bor du i Sverige också?


Visst gör jag det. Med fru, barn och Volvo. Men det är en hemlighet. Du ska inte berätta det för nån. ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1KSaUEu_T4

[irishfan86]

Interesting that Joel Lindpere of the New York Red Bulls is considering a call-up for Estonia in these playoffs. He's a very good player who basically gave up international football to focus on his Red Bulls career.

He was named the Red Bulls MVP last season, plays in midfield and is a tidy footballer.

[TrapAPony]

Interesting that Joel Lindpere of the New York Red Bulls is considering a call-up for Estonia in these playoffs.

I wonder if anyone will consider declaring for us...hmmmmm.....

[nigel-harps1954]

It's a nice spot alright. Walking around Riga for 8 hours was also fun.

Sure you're thinking of the right country?

[Mr_Parker]

A travel tip I saw elsewhere



check Norwegian air they fly from London to Helsinki (£40 return or something)and i used them to get to the Estonia game. Then you have two options a slow boat takes about 3 hours but its a huge cruise liner type called viking line and there is a super fast boat takes just over an hour i think but you feel every wave as it goes and if the weather is too bad it doesnt go.

[nigel-harps1954]

Interesting that Joel Lindpere of the New York Red Bulls is considering a call-up for Estonia in these playoffs. He's a very good player who basically gave up international football to focus on his Red Bulls career.

He was named the Red Bulls MVP last season, plays in midfield and is a tidy footballer.

Christ I thought you meant Joe Lapira for a second..

[theworm2345]

Christ I thought you meant Joe Lapira for a second..
Should cause about the same amount of worry for us as Joe.

[French Toasht]

Brian Kerr brought in his folder on Estonia to the studio for an interview on RTE radio. Goes into specifics on individual players and what type of team Estonia are. A good insight into what to expect.

http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/mns/2011/1013/kerr_kinsella_av.html

[BonnieShels]

What's the story with tickets lads?

After the game those of us who were there were told that we'd get first dibs on tickets... anyone know?

Edit: just saw this on the FAI website...
Please Note : Customers who purchased tickets for the Armenia game and have rights to buy for the Estonia game will be contacted
within the next few days with instructions on how to obtain their tickets.

Also premium level tickets are on sale now from the site.
https://tickets.fai.ie/matchtickets/match/ticketOptions

[boovidge]

I got an email earlier giving me the link to buy the tickets from 3pm tomorrow and was given a password.

[BonnieShels]

Best make a call in the morning to my designated ticket guy.

[DannyInvincible]

I got an email earlier giving me the link to buy the tickets from 3pm tomorrow and was given a password.

Will tickets be available on Ticketmaster to only those with a password then?

[boovidge]

This is the email i received


Dear MR. Boovidge,
The Republic of Ireland has been drawn against Estonia in the play-offs for next year’s European Championships, with the second leg taking place at the Aviva Stadium on Tuesday November 15th. As you purchased tickets for the game v Armenia on Tuesday night last, you are being given the opportunity to purchase tickets for the playoff. You will be able to do so during the pre-sale window beginning at 3pm on Friday 14th October. You will need to use the unique password below (case sensitive) to purchase. You are entitled to purchase 1 ticket(s).So presumably, as the game wasn't quite sold out, there will be a limited number of tickets on general sale after this "pre-sale window" ends. Also, being given a password doesn't entitle you to more tickets than you purchased for the Armenia game.

[paul_oshea]

Do they take you seriously there when you sign off like that?

[pineapple stu]

What's the story with tickets lads?

After the game those of us who were there were told that we'd get first dibs on tickets... anyone know?

Edit: just saw this on the FAI website...
Please Note : Customers who purchased tickets for the Armenia game and have rights to buy for the Estonia game will be contacted
within the next few days with instructions on how to obtain their tickets.

Also premium level tickets are on sale now from the site.
https://tickets.fai.ie/matchtickets/match/ticketOptions
Jesus - I saw that e-mail come in, but I assumed it was spam and deleted it!!! Rescued from the depths of my deleted items folder; thanks Bonnie!