Travel Diary: Saturday, September 5th, 1998 - Kyiv, Ukraine

Water. And aspirin. Oh boy, what a night. For the first time on my travels I'd taken in the Under-21 match the evening prior to the full International. Northern Ireland did not have an U21 squad at the time and the U21 match in Portugal was played an hour outside Oporto. But here in Kyiv I finally had my chance and the 1-0 scoreline belied the Ukrainian domination of the Russians. We were hoping so much this was a portent of things to come! That evening we turned all our nervous energies into partying quite late into the Kyiv night, hence the need for the aspirins!

Outside Olympiiskyj

The U21 match brought out all the politics, what with the small Dynamo stadium and small crowd giving everyone space to hear each other sing. The funniest moments had to be when the Russians needed treatment after a tackle and our lot all began singing "Vichnaja Pamjat'" or "Kalika, kalika, kalika Moskal'." Even the militsia laughed at that one.

But the main focus was today and the big match. I had so much nervous energy flowing through my body it was incredible. I'd gone off that morning to pick up my cousin who'd taken the train in from L'viv overnight and then to pick up our tickets for the match. By 2pm we were ready to rock and roll once again. Dressed in our traditional vyshyttja and dark sunglasses, we started from the John Bull Pub in Saksaganskoho out via Chervonoarmiskaja to Khreshchatyk.

Inside the new-look stadium

Khreshchatyk was a sight in it's own self. The entire street had been blocked off to vehicular traffic and was a mass of people the closer one got to Maidan Nezalezhnosti. Already the square was packed, full of flags and people dressed up in blue and yellow were everywhere! After walking around a while we headed to our Kyiv "office", the Rock Café, not far off of Maidan. There were several of our friends already waiting and getting ready for the match, enjoying our favourite Kyivan libation, Obolon'! Soon the faces were being painted, the songs were being sung, the atmosphere building with each passing moment. The diasporan contingent in our group this time around contained members from England, Scotland, Germany and Canada.

Once 5pm rolled around we bade farewell to the beautiful young ladies minding the bar and made our way via the Metro to the stadium. On on the escalator on our way out of the metro, some Russian supporters behind us were singing away.  Lesia, from Germany, and I decided something must be done about this so we began singing Chervona Kalyna.   Once we'd finished the first verse, we couldn't hear the Russians anymore so I exclaimed "Dobre, vony vzhe tykhi!" to universal amusement.  Once outside the stadium the mass people crowded around the plaza was amazing...it was going to be a full house! We passed four cordons of police and military guards before finally being allowed into the stadium proper. Out in the concourse we met several more friends and walked to our entry gate, past a police cordoned section where the Russians were sat. Every nerve in my body was jangling, and the electricity in the air was palpable. As I stepped past the final police check and finally into the stands the noise and atmosphere was positively overwhelming and this was still 45 minutes prior to kick-off!

Loban and Surkis JR. during training

Soon, the Russian contingent began singing and cheering and we looked on as the Russian squad came on for the warm up. As soon as they set foot on the pitch the Ukrainian fans began whistling in derision. Oh what Andrei Kanchelskis must have been thinking? And as our boys took the field, the crowed roared as one and our drum began banging louder and louder.

The stadium kept filling up and the tension kept building and as the clock ticked down to 7pm the noise became ever louder. And as the last of the 82,000 in the stadium settled into their seats and the teams walked out and the music played and we sung along to the anthem, this was it, the moment we'd all been waiting for since the draw was announced!

The Russians kicked off. Anatoly Byshovets' had earlier said that if his squad could hold Ukraine for the first 20 minutes then they would be in good shape. Not this time. Ukraine was on the attack and the Russians were clearly bemused by the tactical wrench thrown in by Sabo. Popov and Skachenko were thrown up front with Shevchenko and Rebrov withdrawn back and wide. Rebrov was running like a man possessed and on 14 minutes the ball was crossed wide to Popov who beat Kanchelskis to the ball. His headed strike looped in a most gorgeous arc over the outstretched Kharin and into the net and we were up 1-0!! On 25 minutes a bad pass caught the Russians on the counter and Ukraine had a 4-on-3 odd man rush. The ball was played out wide to Skachenko who calmly chipped the ball over Kharin and slotted it into the net and it was 2-0! Everyone could hardly believe it! More chances were squandered but the clear feeling was that this match was ours and it was clearly going to be our day.

All the boys are cheering...

During the break we walked up into the concourse to buy some more Obolon' and effuse about the match. An acquaintance from Ternopil' happened by and we chatted awhile. Everyone was in such an elated mood and the talk was about 4 and 5 and 6-0!

The second half was more difficult than expected. The Russians had clearly taken in some lessons from the first and were playing better, though still unable to make any truly serious pushes in towards goal. And for all that Ukraine were still clearly controlling much of the play. Not long after the hour disaster struck. A poor tackle gave the Russians a free kick just outside the area. Just moments earlier Mostovoi had been brought on to try to add some spark to the Russian attack. Slack man-marking gave him his chance and he was first to the ball off the free kick and suddenly it was 2-1. Game on then.

The Russians took the goal as a sign to press forward but their pressure didn't tell and didn't last very long. And soon Ukraine was back on the attack in search of a clinching goal. They found it on the 74th minute when a through ball saw Kharin trip up Rebrov in the area. Professional foul! Red Card! Penalty!

Celebrations outside the ground

Rebrov spanked the ball into the net and it was 3-1! Party on!!

Rebrov missed a glorious opportunity, which saw a 100 mile-per-hour screamer smash off the crossbar and, I believe it was Skachenko, slid one by the far post when it was easier to score. Truth be told, we should have had 5 or 6 by this point.

Late on, in the 87th minute, another free kick, conceded at almost the exact same point, saw the Russians score a late consolation, 3-2, but their goose was cooked. After a further few minutes of injury time the referee blew full time and the celebrations began in earnest! We remained in the stand singing away until the militsia began asking us to vacate the stadium. We slowly made our way out, singing and dancing all the way. And once out of the stadium we found a nice spot and sang and danced some more, even including an impromptu kolomyjka!

Soon, the coach carrying the Russian team drove by. The players looked defeated in every sense, some players averting their eyes so as not to see us waving our flags and singing Chervona Kalyna to them. Once they'd passed we made our way down Khreshchatyk, large flag waving in the wind, singing and shaking hands with passers-by.

At Maidan, I'd finally met some of the Ukrainian Internet crowd and after chatting with them I made my way back to the Rock Café and partied there until closing time at 4am. And during the party we watched the highlights on Eurosport. Iceland 1 - France 1! As perfect a result as imaginable! What a wonderful, magical and perfect day to be a Ukrainian!

The table after round one...

Storming the Bastille...

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