In life these odd coincidences happen that affect where you are and what you do at a certain time. I ended up watching ladies football in Belarus! It was all through Shaun Schofield and the fact that we met in Gillingham in Kent to watch the football match between Northern Ireland and England. We made plans to head to an away game and the next one was in Belarus, so that's where we went! I say 'we', but Shaun had to pull out due to work commitments. I was on a round the world trip and timed it so that I was in Moscow the day before and then flew to Minsk in Belarus before boarding a train to Bobruisk. I was the only Northern Ireland 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.
I wasn't the only Irishman in attendance however as I had met Owen the night before in a hotel - he is an Irish Australian who happened to be in Belarus at the time and staying in the same hotel - with him was Albert from Australia - also a random traveller. They came and sat with me and supported Northern Ireland for the day! The match itself was very one sided with Belarus 1-0 up at half time and coasting to a 5-0 win at full time. I sang for 90 minutes endlessly as the only away fan and needed a bit of local police protection from the locals. Must be the first time that has happened at a ladies match!
I had to wait outside the stadium after the game and was mobbed by about 30 kids from Belarus who had warmed to my madness and crowded round me looking for presents. In the end all I gave was a Northern Ireland bottle opener to a kid who was happy to receive it. These kids were obviously still very poor and drenched in the aftermath of the soviet regime, still not commercialised like Western Europe. So I felt sorry for them, but could not give them anything more. I then caught the bus with the team back to Minsk, where I enjoyed the sights of Victory Square, the Parliament Building and the token Irish pub (random going all this way and then trying the Irish pub - the first pub I saw opposite the government building and called Drozhzhy United!!), which I popped in for a pint.
So an epic trip to the country of Belarus came to a close and I headed to Warsaw in Poland next!
Statistics:
Belarus 5 - 0 Northern Ireland
(Kazeeva, Tatarynova 2, Davydovich, Kuzniatsova)
Top beers - Dnyaprouskaye and Greynitska.
Bars I drank in - Minsk Airport Bar and Drozhzy United Irish Pub.
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.
I wasn't the only Irishman in attendance however as I had met Owen the night before in a hotel - he is an Irish Australian who happened to be in Belarus at the time and staying in the same hotel - with him was Albert from Australia - also a random traveller. They came and sat with me and supported Northern Ireland for the day! The match itself was very one sided with Belarus 1-0 up at half time and coasting to a 5-0 win at full time. I sang for 90 minutes endlessly as the only away fan and needed a bit of local police protection from the locals. Must be the first time that has happened at a ladies match!
I had to wait outside the stadium after the game and was mobbed by about 30 kids from Belarus who had warmed to my madness and crowded round me looking for presents. In the end all I gave was a Northern Ireland bottle opener to a kid who was happy to receive it. These kids were obviously still very poor and drenched in the aftermath of the soviet regime, still not commercialised like Western Europe. So I felt sorry for them, but could not give them anything more. I then caught the bus with the team back to Minsk, where I enjoyed the sights of Victory Square, the Parliament Building and the token Irish pub (random going all this way and then trying the Irish pub - the first pub I saw opposite the government building and called Drozhzhy United!!), which I popped in for a pint.
So an epic trip to the country of Belarus came to a close and I headed to Warsaw in Poland next!
Statistics:
Belarus 5 - 0 Northern Ireland
(Kazeeva, Tatarynova 2, Davydovich, Kuzniatsova)
Top beers - Dnyaprouskaye and Greynitska.
Bars I drank in - Minsk Airport Bar and Drozhzy United Irish Pub.
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