France V Ireland - Wednesday, 18th November 2009 - World Cup 2010 Playoff Second Leg

[geysir]

Trap ended up with the best starting team over the past 3 big games and after that we are thinner by varying degrees in quality. I can't praise Lawrence high enough who just came in for these 3 games and tuned in as if he had been a Trap disciple all his life.

I don't have a good feeling about all this moaning for a replay. The French have been appropriately graceful and embarrassed in their victory. No one can point to that the better team went through regardless of the late goal.

[dr_peepee]

welldone john delaney for having the balls to stand up to fifa.
im behind you 100%

Listen to it again... His statements are very carefully worded. Whilst the tone would have you think otherwise, his words leave no room for hypocracy. It's a case of "I have to do this cos it's my job". He stops short of saying he would accept a replay had it been the other way round.

[macdermesser]

no shock that Delaney and Cowen were the two most vociferous in asking for a replay. Score a few easy political points .. and at the same time thinking we're all eejits that we'll suddenly think they are doing a good job as a result of chasing this lost cause

[paul_oshea]

Lloris was immense. he was the difference, whatever about how well anelka played he was the difference.

Complete rollercoaster of emotions, turned around after the keane goal and noticed an old man in his mix sixties crying that summed it all up for me. It was hte happiest moment of my life. I knew we were all over them and had them rattled but id never say it out loud.

Met that japanese woman and her husband and baby(very cute baby!) and she was inconsolable at the end. We just sat there for half hour, none of us spoke for at least 20 mins. Im still devastated.

It really pains me to say this but Duff should have scored. They had to score twice then.

The organisation and lack of stewards in stade de france was a joke.

I remember on the way up i knelt down and said a prayer, just asking that we at least go out and do our best and get to extra time. I looked up and said to EB if you are looking down then help us out!!! We did get to extra time, but i never thought we would go out in such controversial circumstance. I have to say i was looking forward ot penos, well not looking forward but i felt if they scored we couldn't score again.

Throughout the night I looked up to the heavens just praying, hoping.

Heartbreak. Right now it feels horrible supporting Ireland.

[John83]

Kingdom, that's a top post.

tl;dr.

[jamie m]

Roy keane gives his thoughts on Henry and the FAI
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...-thierry-henry

[John83]

Roy keane gives his thoughts on Henry and the FAI
http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2...-thierry-henry

I wonder who would win in an anti-FAI rap battle between Roy Keane and Brian Kerr.

[Fr Damo]

Who actually values his opinion now? Ok I kinda agree that is should not have reached the 6 yard box but this is football, footballers error in judgement sometimes, as do refs and more especially managers! Of which Keane it seems is a poor one.
If I were Shay i'd start commenting on Keanes managerial record..... Given won't though cos he is much more a sportsman than Keane. Time to move on Roy!

[Greenbod]

Right now it feels horrible supporting Ireland.

Nice post....up to this point. I feel great being an Irish supporter right now!.........I'd hate to be French.

[Stuttgart88]

The soft Georgia penalty is irrelevant in this context. No Irish player dived or cheated, it was just a bad decision (just as our disallowed goal and the penalty that Doyle should have earned were bad decisions).

What would Keane have done or said if he was playing on Wednesday?

Keane's just a bitter man. Everyone should realise this including the Guardian. Even when he's right his comments are of little value.

[SwanVsDalton]

Roy Rent-a-quote, he gets journalists in a lather if he so much as opens as mouth. It's disappointing but hardly surprising.

[as_i_say]

This whole thing is getting embarassing now. Typical Keane sticking his oar in. Worse still that treacherous git Cowan.

The French media and public have reacted honorably to the situation-we need to move on and hope that the calls for video evidence can be the main positive thing to come out of this whole mess.

[lionelhutz]

Thierry Henry is a self-promoting, arrogant, dishonest dickface. That is all

[Wolfie]

Does anyone know whether this is correct. I have a feeling it goes in to the record books as 1-1.

We should have won it (the tie) in 90. The French were hopeless. We were excellent and we missed at least one gilt edged chance. I always felt we were going to pay as a result of that. I was in the rain swept Brussels Stadium when we were robbed years ago. I have seen all the dodgy decisions go against us over the years. Unlike my usual self, I had been optimistic about this game and I was proven right until Damien missed his chance. THAT was the crucial moment of the game. We were through, the French were out if we had taken that. After that I knew the best we'd get was penos, the worst a late French goal (I didn't think it would be a handball or offside etc though).

Yet another heart break. The usual scene of the players coming over to us and we applaud them and they applaud us. This alas is what following Ireland is about. The heartache doesn't go away. Fans crying, outrageous decisions but at the end of the day if you don't take your chances, you're in the hands of a late opposition goal, referee decision or the lottery of penos.

Time to move on to the next heartbreak. That's what supporting a team is all about. The joyeous moment of the Keane goal and the despair of the referee's final whistle. It's like an addictive drug.

Great post, OwlsFan.

For those of us who've been around a while, the song remains the same.

Emotions are running justifiably high at the moment given the manner of our exit and the sheer quality of our performance.

I think when the dust settles - the chances we missed within the 90 minutes will be recognised.

Remember Ireland v USSR in 1988? We were outstanding that night too. We were completely underestimated. John Aldridge volleyed over in the 2nd half and I just knew it was going to come back and haunt us.

Brilliant enough as were - its really just a tale of missed chances, yet again.

We should have killed them off within the 90 minutes and Extra Time should not have come into it. Now that's what really hurts.

[centre mid]

Cant believe that Henry has now called for a replay, shortly after FFF & FIFA had both confirmed that there will be no replay. Quality, a true ambassador of the game.

Lets start to move on now, I think the fans of Ireland have won the moral ground but nothing more. FFF & FIFA can hang their heads in shame for a week or two more.

[Conormack]

just back from paris... gutted ... completly devistated... fans were fantastic.. . stick for henry is gettin bit much at this stage... his attitude after the goal went in was shocking as two shocking handballs tat at least one official should of seen it cause i did at other end of the ground..running around as if he was the mastermind of a wondergoal... hannson never should of been in charge of such a high profile game anyway.. we defo left game behind us. prob 9 times out of ten robbie would of scored tat and missed chances in the first and second game.. defo better team over both legs but didn make chances count.. . ah well .. here's to the euro's

[paul_oshea]

Nice post....up to this point. I feel great being an Irish supporter right now!.........I'd hate to be French.

Sorry, what i meant whats it feels horrible, supporting Ireland is the greatest thing in my life, which might be sad to say but when duff put that ball back for keane, ive never felt as happy in my life as that moment. It just feels horrible.

[Stuttgart88]

Yeah, time to move on as far as I'm concerned.

Moral victory, moral high ground etc. We played a good game over two legs against a genuine world power with very good players and if we were more clinical we'd be going to Africa. Shame for us but it happens. Nice to see the Irish team in the international spotlight again I suppose.

Lesson for me is that if we engage teams in a game we can perform well and we have reason to feel confident again, though we need the next generation of players to start making some waves now.

[Greenbod]

Sorry, what i meant whats it feels horrible, supporting Ireland is the greatest thing in my life, which might be sad to say but when duff put that ball back for keane, ive never felt as happy in my life as that moment. It just feels horrible.

Know what you mean....but we'll all get over it....roll on the Euros. There will be many more moments to feel like you did when Keane scored...that's guaranteed. It's the really horrible moments that make the good ones so good.....glory will come.

[Mad Moose]

Well I've finally watched the entire match (thanks slow2anger for producing the DVD copies). Having attended the game and given our location in one corner I couldn't say much on the event that saw us exit the World Cup. I do recall Martin Hansson and his assistants having a good game up to the incident and that was confirmed watching the DVD. On the night I have to say my heart stopped as Anelka went over in the box and it looked very much like Shay caught him. An absolutely brilliant and brave decision, and the right decision at that, was made by the referee on that occasion.

I feel so sorry for Martin Hansson only because he never put a foot wrong all night and in light of Sepp Blatter's blaming him I feel this has only shown Blatter to be the useless incompetent he actually is. In no way can Martin Hansson be blamed. In watching the coverage I now have a better idea of the location of both the referee and his assistant and I honestly expected that Henry's handball was mre obvious than it actually was. It took me a few watches actually to finally see the incident and its so out of view bar the presence of the players that were chasing Henry.

I view the event so much differently now and I view Hansson differently. Its done, its in the past and its a very painful memory of what was one of the most memorable trips with the Irish Team.