By Myles Palmer
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Ireland 1 Cameroon 1
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Mboma 38, Holland 52
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Matt Holland of Ipswich scored a fabulous equaliser to keep the dream alive.
First half, I wondered why it took Cameroon so long to score.
Second half, the Irish could have won. They were on top at the death.
Eto’o wriggled past Staunton twice to set up an easy chance for Mboma to score from seven yards.
This was exactly what I had expected to see and Cameroon still looked,perhaps, a top six team.
After the break, the Republic raised the tempo.
Kevin Kilbane crossed, Kalla headed out and the ball bounced twice and Holland smacked it into the bottom corner from 25 yards.
A textbook right foot shot placed six inches inside the post. No keeper could have saved that shot.
Cameroon don’t concede goals, so this was new.
Question : What are they like after you equalise?
Answer : Not as good!
Cameroon started to look pretty average.
Eto-o broke away but fired well wide.
After 83, Damien Duff made a great channel run to the left and crossed and the ball was cleared towards Robbie Keane.
Robbie chested it and fired a fierce shot which HIT THE POST!
What a moment!So unlucky!
The unluck of the Irish.
Cameroon are a decent,sporting side and there was hardly a foul or bad reaction in the game.
Once in the 89th Duff turned Kalla in a menacing area just outside the box and the big man shoved him down.Not a vicious foul.The kind centrebacks do every week.
In the last ten the Irish were pressing for the winner. Heroic stuff!
The romantic dream of the shambolic,jolly, happy-go-lucky Oirish, the dream that Roy Keane hates so much, is still alive.
GOOD WING PLAY was the feature of Denmark 2 Uruguay 1.
Centreback Martin Laursen (No.4) is the best player I’ve seen so far.
Denmark play with two men wide, so theiur geometry is a bit Ajaxy, although they don’t play 3-4-3,as Ajax used to do.
Two goals by Tomasson, from Gronkaer’s cross, and then from sub Jorgensen’s cross.
Left back Dario Rodriguez equalised with a snorting left foot volley into the top corner in 47 minutes.
Goals were 45,47 and 82.
It’s still hard to know how this World Cup, with morning kick-offs, is gonna fit into our lives.
How it’s gonna fit into my life.
I don’t know how much of Korea/Japan2002 I can watch – or write about here.
It’s rushed up over me like a tidal wave and I’m drowning already after three games.
Its noon on a sunny Saturday and I can have a bath or feed a banana to Sophie, our cranky old tortoise, or watch the Germany-Saudi game.
Or listen to the Germany game on the radio as I have a bath?
June 1st 2002.