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

**Sullivinho** · 17/10/2011, 9:49 PM

Originally Posted by amaccann

Maybe it has been mentioned already in this thread & I simply missed it (sorry!), but has anyone garnered reactions from the Estonians' fans and press? I'm wondering how they're viewing the game: whether it's with cautious optimism, trepidation or what. I think it's fair to say we're all quietly confident Ireland can push past the "minnows" of the playoffs, I'm wondering what our opponents are thinking ...

Almost 200 Estonian fan opinions here on what appears to be the playoff announcement on Tallinn's premier(?) newspaper's online version. The not wholly unexpected complication is that they're all in Estonian..

I see one of them quoted Trap's pragmatic "we must not underestimate the quality and fortitude of Estonia" comments from the Irish Times though so we're not the only ones engaged in recon.

**paul_oshea** · 17/10/2011, 10:15 PM

I can get it translated if anyone cares.

**Sullivinho** · 17/10/2011, 10:28 PM

I never know when online translators are messing with me or not but here's a few they've come up with from the above site:

Ireland is a tough opponent, the majority of men k�rgliigas.arvan plays in English, however, that the Czechs would have been better vastane.aga Well, the ball is round and not vennad.loodame days to miss the Irish show the same level as in Northern Ireland in the second half

I have two feet between the ball and both went to the opponent's goal

I went for a very personal thing. Irish to hide .....

This is the moment when the Republic of Ireland national team, and quite frankly, it's still pretty hard and the composition of the Given, Dunn, Coleman, O'Shea, Duff, Hunt, Whelan, McCarthy, Long, and AM Best are all playing in clubs like Wolves, Newcastle, Aston Villa, Wigan, WBA, Stoke, Fulham and so on. Serbia had the same name, a much tougher team to beat but we managed. What counts is team spirit. If all 10 outfield players are doing their best games of life, it is unrealistic to expect a positive outcome, otherwise you will certainly not. Lindpere should definitely play..... and perhaps also by the weather in our 11.nov (maybe snow). Key to this is to not let the Irish have hit Tallinn to recruit.

In this chap's defense, fear of the Irish invading to recruit is a natural consequence of spending a year in the same group as the North. Victims of chlorophobia often suffer in silence and find it difficult to move on, particularly at traffic lights.

**theworm2345** · 18/10/2011, 12:46 AM

Tickets for Estonia's crunch Euro 2012 playoff against Ireland sold out within 25 minutes Monday, as the Baltic minnows brace for the biggest game in their footballing history.

The Estonian Football Association said that all 2,000 tickets available to the general public via local Internet portal Piletilevi had been snapped up just 25 minutes after going on sale at 10:00 am (0700 GMT).

A further 1,222 were sold at Piletilevi's counters in the Baltic nation.

A total of 4,500 tickets had already been allocated to Estonia's supporters' organisations and football clubs and 1,400 to the Football Association of Ireland for travelling fans.

"As always, fans' associations and football clubs were give the opportunity to book tickets earlier in order to avoid the black market and above all to ensure that fans of the national team won't be left behind the gates," Estonian FA spokesman Mihkel Uiboleht told AFP.

The November 11 match at the 9,692-capacity A. Le Coq Arena in the capital Tallinn will be a landmark for Estonia.

By making the playoffs for next years European Championships in Poland and Ukraine, manager Tarmo Ruutli's men have ventured further in a major international competition than any other team from the nation of 1.3 million.

The online tickets could only be bought in Estonia, with each purchaser limited to four, in an effort to stop touts.

Tonu Sirel, secretary general of the Estonian FA, warned that anyone who bought a black market ticket would be disappointed on match-day.

"The ticket is property of the Estonian Football Association, and if someone who buys one violates the rules by re-selling the ticket at a higher price, we can declare it invalid," Sirel said.

Although Ireland fans do not have a troublemaker reputation, the strict sales controls are also meant to keep home and away supporters apart, a standard rule at most internationals.

"If Irish fans enter a stand not designated for them, we have the right to remove them from there, which we will do," Sirel said.

The return leg in Dublin is on November 15.

http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/news?...ckets_20111017

On a side note...

Although Ireland fans do not have a troublemaker reputation, the strict sales controls are also meant to keep home and away supporters apart, a standard rule at most internationals.

Pussies!

**Crosby87** · 18/10/2011, 12:50 AM

I don't understand the recruit thing. What does that mean?

**geysir** · 18/10/2011, 8:09 AM

Originally Posted by Crosby87

I don't understand the recruit thing. What does that mean?

In context 'Key to this is to not let the Irish have hit Tallinn to recruit', to gain an advantage, I presume.

**Stuttgart88** · 18/10/2011, 8:29 AM

Maybe Gerry Armstrong has been advising Estonia's FA?

**archiewingnut** · 18/10/2011, 3:28 PM

Traveling to Riga as the flights are full to tallin. Any takers looking to share a car to tallin Friday morning returning for the flight on Sat late afternoon

**elroy** · 19/10/2011, 2:02 AM

One of my biggest fears going into this tie is the away goals rule. Playing at home second puts us at a disadvantage in this regard. I really hope we come back from Estonia with a score draw or better. I don't think my nerves could handle a second leg where the first had ended scoreless.

**punkrocket** · 19/10/2011, 10:05 AM

Originally Posted by Crosby87

I don't understand the recruit thing. What does that mean?

Pussies!

I refer you to the earlier link by Paul

[COLOR=#417394]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNmHhvAcJWk[/COLOR]

For the immature teenager in all of us

**Dodge** · 19/10/2011, 10:08 AM

Originally Posted by elroy

One of my biggest fears going into this tie is the away goals rule. Playing at home second puts us at a disadvantage in this regard.

PLaying at home in the second leg is usually seen as an advantage, particularly with regards to the away goal rule.

Its only a disadvantage if you fail to score away in the first leg, and then the order of the games doesn't matter...

**Crosby87** · 19/10/2011, 11:44 AM

I think its going to be 1-1 then 0-0 and we go in with half the board complaining that we "Dont deserve it".

**paul_oshea** · 19/10/2011, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by archiewingnut

Traveling to Riga as the flights are full to tallin. Any takers looking to share a car to tallin Friday morning returning for the flight on Sat late afternoon

The bus is 4 hours and costs 20 euro, might be a cheaper option.

**pineapple stu** · 19/10/2011, 1:14 PM

Booked into Riga, staying a night there and bussing it to Tallinn as well. Hotels are ridiculously cheap - less than E50/night for a twin room. Frees up a bit of money for drinking!

Now to hope I win the ticket raffle...

**Lionel Ritchie** · 20/10/2011, 7:42 AM

dreamt last night we ****ed away a two goal lead and lost 3-2 in Talinn. winner came in the 93rd minute. still trembling.

**ifk101** · 20/10/2011, 8:37 AM

I think we'll win both legs.

**OwlsFan** · 20/10/2011, 9:06 AM

Originally Posted by ifk101

I think we'll win both legs.

How long have you been following Ireland? We don't do those sort of things.

As for the away goal, around 10% of games are decided on that. I'd be delighted with a 0-0 over there since if we can't beat Estonia at home then we're not very good are we?

**ifk101** · 20/10/2011, 9:49 AM

Originally Posted by OwlsFan

How long have you been following Ireland? We don't do those sort of things.

Not of tradition but we are good at grinding out results under Trapattoni. We have beaten Armenia and Macedonia home and away in this qualification campaign and both represent a more difficult proposition to me than facing Estonia. Estonia deserve respect for getting to the position they find themselves in, but they are the fifth seeds in their qualification group for good reason. We should be confident.

**Crosby87** · 20/10/2011, 11:32 AM

Originally Posted by Lionel Ritchie

dreamt last night we ****ed away a two goal lead and lost 3-2 in Talinn. winner came in the 93rd minute. still trembling.

Better than your usual dream of getting that weird looking sculpture of your head made.

**tetsujin1979** · 20/10/2011, 12:24 PM

Trapattoni has an excellent record in competitive games against teams ranked below us

Code:

World Cup 2010
P W D L F A
7 4 3 0 8 4
Date       Home Team   Rank  Result Away Team  Rank
06-Sep-08  Georgia     (77)   1-2     Ireland  (38)
10-Sep-08  Montenegro (136)   0-0     Ireland  (38)
15-Oct-08  Ireland     (38)   1-0      Cyprus  (80)
11-Feb-09  Ireland     (29)   2-1     Georgia (108)
28-Mar-09  Ireland     (26)   1-1    Bulgaria  (27)
05-Sep-09  Cyprus      (76)   1-2     Ireland  (38)
14-Oct-09  Ireland     (34)   0-0  Montenegro  (75)

Euro 2012
 P W D L  F A
 6 6 0 0 12 3
Date       Home Team   Rank  Result Away Team  Rank
03-Sep-10  Armenia    (105)   0-1     Ireland  (33)
07-Sep-10  Ireland     (33)   3-1     Andorra (202)
26-Mar-11  Ireland     (34)   2-1   Macedonia  (83)
04-Jun-11  Macedonia   (98)   0-2     Ireland  (31)
07-Oct-11  Andorra    (203)   0-2     Ireland  (29)
11-Oct-11  Ireland     (29)   2-1     Armenia  (44)

Totals
 P  W D L  F A
13 10 3 0 20 7

note - zero losses over both qualification series and 100% win ratio in the Euro 2012 qualifiers
I have faith that at the very least, the zero losses record will continue in the play offs