For some reason, the first thing my dad does upon returning home from a Gills match, is to put on the TV and find the Teletext (Yes, I know it's not called that anymore but it's the same thing!) report of the match. If it's not published yet, he keeps looking every few minutes until it appears. His reward for this persistence is a 50 word article typed up by somebody who wasn't even at the game! So, in honour of Teletext (Not the BBCs Interactive service if you prefer) here is my match report of Ukraine v France....
"France went to the top of Group D after a comfortable win over host nation Ukraine on a bizarre night in Donesk.
Referee Bjorn Kuipers was forced to take the players off the field after just 4 minutes as torrential rain made conditions unplayable. When play resumed an hour later, both teams struggled in the energy sapping conditions.
France coped the better and took the lead thanks to a neat shot from Jeremy Menez after 48 minutes. That lead was doubled 8 minutes later as Yohann Cabaye turned and fired home from the edge of the area.
France had further chances to extend their lead whilst Andriy Shevchenko fired over the hosts best opening."
Sweden v England - England at the pub
The Beehive in Sheffield was the venue for my evening of England watching. It wasn't the original plan, but from about 5pm, the pubs of Sheffield were very busy, so having found a table with a good view of a big screen we decided to stick at the Beehive rather than risk going to another pub.
The Beehive is near Sheffield University and there were hoards of students present. There was a good selection of ales and plenty of tv screens, but once again the sound was so low you couldn't really hear any of the commentary. Note to landlords - turn the sound up! It helps the atmosphere.
The atmosphere was lively, but not as partisan as I've experienced in previous tournaments. There was no singing during the game and Andy Carroll's early header was met by muted cheering and clapping. When Sven Johnson and Olaf Mellberg put the Swedes ahead, there was plenty of abuse flying around, mainly aimed at poor Mr Johnson. Clearly, everybody being a couple of drinks further along meant that the reaction to England's last two goals was more animated, but it still wasn't the wave of ecstasy often associated with the national team.
Maybe people still don't really believe that the team are a threat in this competition...but stranger things have happened. In fact, a stranger thing happened the following night...
Due to a clerical error (I had too much to drink last night), my Day 9 report will be delayed until tomorrow. But I'll be MBMing both Group B games on Sunday evening...or at least trying to.
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