I first watched ladies football in May 2007 in Gillingham in Kent. England beat Northern Ireland 5-0 and author Shaun Schofield also attended. We agreed that day that we should head to another away match so we waited a few months and made plans to head to Belarus. Northern Ireland would have a World Cup qualifier there, in a city called Bobruisk. Shaun couldn't make it in the end so I went alone, almost becoming part of the team posse and I was the only away fan at the match!
The team trained at the stadium of Belshina Bobruisk in this obscure Belarussian city. Manager of Northern Ireland ladies is Alfie Wylie and he gave a speech to inspire the girls before the match. Team captain presented me with a signed shirt from the entire Northern Ireland ladies team - a prized possession and a memory to linger forever. I sat down in the stadium as the only travelling football fan at the match. It was inspiring.
The night before I had met Owen (an Irish-Australian) and Albert (an Australian) and they kindly joined me in the stand with their new recruit, a local lady (a blonde Belarussian with large breasts). Owen wore my Northern Ireland scarf for the day, but none of them could have predicted my loudness or enthusiasm for the team. I outsang almost 1000 Belarussian fans (who only started singing because I was so loud and they felt they needed to prove they could as well). I sang for almost 90 minutes non-stop and yet our team still lost 5-0 against a highly ranked Belarus side. After the match I was made to have a police escort as a few local hooligans were not taking too kindly to my passion for my country!!
After the match and the sad 5-0 defeat the local fans bombarded me for presents as they assumed I was a rich westerner. I wasn't - I was a backpacker but I spared them a key ring before catching the bus back to Minsk, the country's capital city. On arrival in Minsk and after checking into the hotel, it was time for a pint of beer and I found a bar called Drozhzy United, some odd Irish themed pub near a square. Nice to relax with a beer after a manic day out!
My journey to Belarus was interesting and moving. It was now over and I would head to Warsaw next in lovely Poland...
Statistics:
Belarus 5:0 Northern Ireland
(Kazeeva 26, Tatarynova 49, 90, Davydovich 57, Kuzniatsova 80)
Top beers - Dnyaprouskaye and Greynitska.
Bars I was in - Drozhzy United Irish Bar and Hotel Minsk Bar.
The team trained at the stadium of Belshina Bobruisk in this obscure Belarussian city. Manager of Northern Ireland ladies is Alfie Wylie and he gave a speech to inspire the girls before the match. Team captain presented me with a signed shirt from the entire Northern Ireland ladies team - a prized possession and a memory to linger forever. I sat down in the stadium as the only travelling football fan at the match. It was inspiring.
The night before I had met Owen (an Irish-Australian) and Albert (an Australian) and they kindly joined me in the stand with their new recruit, a local lady (a blonde Belarussian with large breasts). Owen wore my Northern Ireland scarf for the day, but none of them could have predicted my loudness or enthusiasm for the team. I outsang almost 1000 Belarussian fans (who only started singing because I was so loud and they felt they needed to prove they could as well). I sang for almost 90 minutes non-stop and yet our team still lost 5-0 against a highly ranked Belarus side. After the match I was made to have a police escort as a few local hooligans were not taking too kindly to my passion for my country!!
After the match and the sad 5-0 defeat the local fans bombarded me for presents as they assumed I was a rich westerner. I wasn't - I was a backpacker but I spared them a key ring before catching the bus back to Minsk, the country's capital city. On arrival in Minsk and after checking into the hotel, it was time for a pint of beer and I found a bar called Drozhzy United, some odd Irish themed pub near a square. Nice to relax with a beer after a manic day out!
My journey to Belarus was interesting and moving. It was now over and I would head to Warsaw next in lovely Poland...
Statistics:
Belarus 5:0 Northern Ireland
(Kazeeva 26, Tatarynova 49, 90, Davydovich 57, Kuzniatsova 80)
Top beers - Dnyaprouskaye and Greynitska.
Bars I was in - Drozhzy United Irish Bar and Hotel Minsk Bar.
About the Author:
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