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!
I was able to watch the Northern Ireland ladies team train and listen to the team talks from manager Alfie Wylie all before the match. I got given a signed football shirt from the ladies team that travelled to Belarus on this trip and I treasure it. Life had taken me to Bobruisk, this non-descript city in Belarus. I was the only football fan of Northern Ireland who had travelled independently to this match.
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!!
I got the team bus with the Northern Ireland ladies back to Minsk the capital city. Before leaving Bobruisk however I got mobbed by loads of kids wanting gifts from me - they assumed I was rich rather than a backpacker!! This wasn't a commercial world. Once back in Minsk I relaxed with a local Belarus beer and even found solace in an Irish pub on a corner which was called Drozhzhy United! All in all a great day out.
So an epic trip to the country of Belarus came to a close and I headed to Warsaw in Poland next!
Match statistics:
Belarus 5:0 Northern Ireland
(Kazeeva 26, Tatarynova 49, 90, Davydovich 57, Kuzniatsova 80)
Beers Tried - Grinitska, Dnyaprouskaye.
Bars I was in - Drozhzy United Irish Bar and Hotel Minsk Bar.
I was able to watch the Northern Ireland ladies team train and listen to the team talks from manager Alfie Wylie all before the match. I got given a signed football shirt from the ladies team that travelled to Belarus on this trip and I treasure it. Life had taken me to Bobruisk, this non-descript city in Belarus. I was the only football fan of Northern Ireland who had travelled independently to this match.
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!!
I got the team bus with the Northern Ireland ladies back to Minsk the capital city. Before leaving Bobruisk however I got mobbed by loads of kids wanting gifts from me - they assumed I was rich rather than a backpacker!! This wasn't a commercial world. Once back in Minsk I relaxed with a local Belarus beer and even found solace in an Irish pub on a corner which was called Drozhzhy United! All in all a great day out.
So an epic trip to the country of Belarus came to a close and I headed to Warsaw in Poland next!
Match statistics:
Belarus 5:0 Northern Ireland
(Kazeeva 26, Tatarynova 49, 90, Davydovich 57, Kuzniatsova 80)
Beers Tried - Grinitska, Dnyaprouskaye.
Bars I was in - Drozhzy United Irish Bar and Hotel Minsk Bar.
About the Author:
For further Football facts from Anthony and Jonny, head to the marvellous site on football elevens for some fabulous facts.
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