What a performance and so unlucky not to walk away with the three points! I don't quite think Paris had ever seen scenes like Monday as the Irish fans were out in full force to take over the capital!
After waking up with heavy heads having sang until the early hours outside O'Sullivans on the Moulin Rouge we made our way over to the Stade de France early. Sam didn't have a ticket so after approaching a free English touts we eventually found a nice French lad who sold us his ticket at a decent price. After a quick subway to celebrate we were off outside the stadium where the party was kicking off. As the beers began to flow the craic between the Irish and Swedish fans was unreal and in stark contrast to the problems in south of France. After a quick interview with Chinese TV we headed to get some drinks, that was until the undercover French police legged it in to shut the shop much to the disappointment of hundreds of Irish fans.
Into the stadium we headed and were greeted by a huge queue which we promptly skipped and found our seats. We weren't sitting together but it was pretty easy to move around. The first half was stellar by the Irish team and we were so unlucky not to be winning at half time. Early in the second half the stadium erupted as Wes put the Boys in Green ahead with a great finish. The Field of Athenry reverberated around as the Irish team sat back like we always do to soak up the opposition's attacks. Squeaky bum time! Unfortunately we couldn't hold out and Clark nodded into his own net (typical). As the Irish team held out there was an air of disappointment in the stadium as this was definitely a missed opportunity, but at the end of the day it's already an improvement on Poland 2012. Or it could have just been the alcohol wearing off. Many Irish fans learn the hard way but they only serve non alcoholic beers in stadium. The look of disappointment on some of their poor faces!
After the game we headed towards the fanzone nearby where rumours spread that they had ran out of beer. Queue more horror faces! The zone began to fill up as Italy sprung a surprise and beat the Belgians. We decided to then make our way to the Moulin Rouge again. The metro was packed with Irish and Swedes and both were in great form. The Moulin Rouge itself was absolute carnage but we were in great voice until the early hours as the sun began to rise.
Not a bad start!
After waking up with heavy heads having sang until the early hours outside O'Sullivans on the Moulin Rouge we made our way over to the Stade de France early. Sam didn't have a ticket so after approaching a free English touts we eventually found a nice French lad who sold us his ticket at a decent price. After a quick subway to celebrate we were off outside the stadium where the party was kicking off. As the beers began to flow the craic between the Irish and Swedish fans was unreal and in stark contrast to the problems in south of France. After a quick interview with Chinese TV we headed to get some drinks, that was until the undercover French police legged it in to shut the shop much to the disappointment of hundreds of Irish fans.
Into the stadium we headed and were greeted by a huge queue which we promptly skipped and found our seats. We weren't sitting together but it was pretty easy to move around. The first half was stellar by the Irish team and we were so unlucky not to be winning at half time. Early in the second half the stadium erupted as Wes put the Boys in Green ahead with a great finish. The Field of Athenry reverberated around as the Irish team sat back like we always do to soak up the opposition's attacks. Squeaky bum time! Unfortunately we couldn't hold out and Clark nodded into his own net (typical). As the Irish team held out there was an air of disappointment in the stadium as this was definitely a missed opportunity, but at the end of the day it's already an improvement on Poland 2012. Or it could have just been the alcohol wearing off. Many Irish fans learn the hard way but they only serve non alcoholic beers in stadium. The look of disappointment on some of their poor faces!
After the game we headed towards the fanzone nearby where rumours spread that they had ran out of beer. Queue more horror faces! The zone began to fill up as Italy sprung a surprise and beat the Belgians. We decided to then make our way to the Moulin Rouge again. The metro was packed with Irish and Swedes and both were in great form. The Moulin Rouge itself was absolute carnage but we were in great voice until the early hours as the sun began to rise.
Not a bad start!
