Darren’s a dazzler!
Russia 2018 dream alive after Copenhagen draw
HERO goalie Darren Randolph kept our World Cup dream alive with a wonderful performance in Copenhagen last night.
Thousands of Irish fans partied into the early hours in the Danish capital after the 0-0 stalemate in the first leg of the play-off.
A series of brilliant stops by the Middlesbrough keeper thwarted the hosts in the 38,000-capacity Parken Stadium.
The man of the match said afterwards: “Hopefully that was the bit of luck we needed to get through.”
Former Ireland international and RTE pundit Liam Brady added: “If it wasn’t for Darren Randolph tonight it could have been a whole lot worse.”
But Eamon Dunphy warned: “That was a poor performance and we’re going to have to do much better on Tuesday.”
Martin O’neill’s side are now a step closer to World Cup 2018 in Russia with the second leg to come in Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Tuesday.
Around 3,400 Irish supporters helped lift the spirits of the Boys in Green inside the sold-out stadium.
Just 2,400 tickets were available in the away end but it is believed an extra 1,000 travelling fans bought passes for the home section with pockets of green seen among the Danish crowd.
The Irish Mirror’s David Coleman joined the Green Army in Copenhagen.
He said: “We came here to get a result and we’ll take it back to Lansdowne Road on Tuesday and hopefully with the fans behind us we’ll get the result we need.”
Ireland manager Martin O’neill said last night: “It’s all to play for on Tuesday.”
If it wasn’t for Darren Randolph it could have been a lot worse LIAM BRADY ON RTE LAST NIGHT