Northern Ireland hoping fans can lift team in Euro 2020 play-off final against Slovakia

[ASFN Admin]

From heroic victories over England and Spain to a history making win against Greece, anyone who has witnessed some of the famous nights under the lights at Windsor Park will recognise how influential Northern Ireland’s “Green and White Army” can be. And Ian Baraclough is hoping those supporters lucky enough to be present at the stadium on Thursday night for the European Championship play-off final against Slovakia will give his players an extra lift as the country bids to reach an international tournament for only the fifth time in their history. A total of 1,060 Northern Ireland fans will be permitted access to the game and, while Baraclough believes his team have “the responsibility of lifting a nation” currently in the midst of a second lockdown and desperate for something to cheer at the end of a torrid year, there was also a call to arms to the supporters he is banking on making a racket. “Any number of fans being in the ground is good,” said the Northern Ireland manager, whose side beat Bosnia-Herzegovina on penalties last month to reach the play-off final. “We want the fans to increase the noise, to enjoy themselves and go home hoarse but also with a smile on their faces. “We have the responsibility of lifting a nation but having 1,060 in adds to the occasion and we want to put a smile on the faces of the people.” It may not be quite the home advantage Baraclough and his players craved — Windsor Park at full capacity holds almost 19,000 and is a raucous place — but the Irish Football Association deserves credit for ensuring there will at least be a presence there, having already demonstrated fans can be safely accommodated in this Covid-19 landscape. Around 600 supporters attended the Nations League defeat against Austria last month and Windsor was the first stadium in the UK to host fans after the initial lockdown when 500 watched Glentoran beat Ballymena in the Irish Cup final in July. Entry for Thursday night’s game was determined by a ballot of Northern Ireland’s 12,500 “campaign card holders”. Northern Ireland beat Greece 3-1 to qualify for Euro 2016 and Baraclough, who succeeded Michael O’Neill as manager in June, is urging his players to carve another piece of history, with Spain, Sweden and Poland lying in wait in Group E next summer should they qualify. The country’s only major finals appearances prior to that were at the 1958, 1982 and 1986 World Cups. Slovakia have Stefan Tarkovic in temporary charge after sacking Pavel Hapal following their play-off semi-final win against Ireland last month. “It’s something I say to the players - go and try and create history,” he said. “You want to be able to look back on your career and say, ‘I managed to win this or that’. It would be a massive achievement for this team to make it another Euros. “People think that footballers are mercenaries and are just interested in money but I think if you get to know footballers more they want to go on and achieve things, they want things to look back on and to share with their families, and this group can go and say in a few years that they have gone on and achieved something together.” Team details (probable) Northern Ireland (4-2-3-1): Peacock-Farrell; Dallas, Cathcart, Evans, Lewis; Davis, Saville; McGinn, McNair, Thompson; Magennis. Slovakia (4-3-3): Rodak; Pekarik, Valjent, Skriniar, Mazan; Kucka, Hrosovsky, Hamsik; Rusnak, Duda, Weiss. Referee: Felix Brych (Germany).

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