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.
In the hotel in Bobruisk I met an Irish Australian guy called Owen and him and his mate Albert joined me in the Northern Irish end for the match. I sang my heart of for 90 minutes to inspire the Northern Ireland ladies team against Belarus, but we went 1-0 down in the first half and never recovered. The final score was 5-0 but I sang loud and proud for the entire match. Belarus had won and I had enjoyed the match. The locals didn't seem to appreciate my singing too much as the police had to escort me from them towards the end! It was all a bit of fun.
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.
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.
In the hotel in Bobruisk I met an Irish Australian guy called Owen and him and his mate Albert joined me in the Northern Irish end for the match. I sang my heart of for 90 minutes to inspire the Northern Ireland ladies team against Belarus, but we went 1-0 down in the first half and never recovered. The final score was 5-0 but I sang loud and proud for the entire match. Belarus had won and I had enjoyed the match. The locals didn't seem to appreciate my singing too much as the police had to escort me from them towards the end! It was all a bit of fun.
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 information from Anthony and Jonny, head to the awesome site on football elevens for some fascinating information.
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