On your marks... Boys in Green set for crunch play-off clash versus the Danes
LOYAL fans of the Boys in Green will be brewing up a storm come half time tonight, according to our national grid.
While the atmosphere is sure to be electric in the Aviva, as Ireland take on Denmark in our crunch World Cup play-off, there will be a power surge across the country, too.
And even if the visiting Vikings have Thor – the Norse god of all things electric – on their side, EirGrid is prepared for any shocks.
‘Spike in demand’
From past experience, EirGrid knows Irish fans are fond of wetting their whistle with a tried and trusted cup of tea to settle the nerves.
A spokesman for the grid yesterday revealed that electricity engineers are braced for a massive spike in demand – equivalent to the electricity needed to power 100,000 homes – when the half-time whistle is blown at 8.30pm and soccer fans race to the kitchen to put on the kettle.
EirGrid spokesman David Martin said: ‘The guys who manage the national control centre, which is the national grid, are expecting a spike in demand at half time of 100 mega-watts. That’s the equivalent to the electricity demands of 100,000 homes.’
Sources in the FAI, meanwhile, revealed they are not expecting the Danish fans to put on a repeat performance of Irish supporters’ stunt at the 0-0 first leg of the crucial qualifier in Copenhagen, when they bought tickets for the Danish fans section and disguised themselves as Danes. An FAI source said: ‘The Danish FA looked for 2,400 tickets approximately.
‘What happens is we give them their ticket allocation and if they have any left over, any tickets that haven’t sold, they give them back to us, which hasn’t happened yet. It won’t arise at all that Danish fans could be buying tickets for the Irish fans’ seating as they haven’t exceeded their ticket allowance.’