Arriving at Queen’s Sport Upper Malone, more commonly known in local sporting circles as ‘The Dub’, I was not sure what to expect. Not being sporty at school, and this characteristic continuing languidly into adulthood, I have never been involved with any of the many soccer, Gaelic football, hockey and other teams that use its facilities. These are worlds of wonder which I do not normally inhabit, despite being a voracious armchair sports fan. My soccer viewing tends to be through television, at arm’s length, where I can watch (and comment/rant/sulk/celebrate as appropriate) in comfort and isolation.
The
opportunity, then, to watch some top class competitive soccer from the inside at
the world’s third largest international sports event was not to be missed. And
it was, in short, fun, inspiring and uplifting.
After I
gawped in awe at the facilities – Queen’s University has truly developed a
world-class sports venue for Northern Ireland – I headed into the pavilion. A
trickle of arriving competitors and volunteers became a rush, and with them
came a kaleidoscope of kit colours and a fascinating soundtrack of accents and
languages.
There were
many laughs and smiles among the sportspeople, but there were also a lot of business-like,
straight looks. Many players were clearly donning their game-faces. This was
serious sport. For while it is the experience of coming to the Games and taking
part that is paramount to many, for just as many others the primary objective is
winning. These amateur players hunger for victory just as much as any
professional. The matches were going to be good.
Despite
weather that could aptly be described as Northern Irish, coupled with the fact
that the Games were not yet officially open, a healthy contingent of spectators
had come along. Many were family and friends of competitors and coaches, but
many others were local people curious to find out about the Games and see some
real sport close up. They were not to be disappointed.
The morning
session saw six games played out, two in each of the two divisions of the men’s
tournament and two in the ladies’ competition. An intra-national match-up
between the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Toronto Police looked on paper
like an intriguing battle, but in reality was a cake walk for the Toronto
ladies, who were 6-0 up after only 35 minutes. The goals included a quick-fire
hat trick from star striker Natalie Urbas, who had been kind enough to record a
short conversation with me before kick-off. The game ended 15-0, a demoralising
loss for the RCMP women, who were playing together for the first time. The
Toronto policewomen, in contrast, play frequently in a local league and the
chasm in class was evident.
There were
mixed results for the local sides. The two men’s teams were rampant, scoring
ten goals each – NI Fire and Rescue Service scoring theirs unanswered past Hong
Kong Police, while Police Service NI allowed their opponents, Gardanne Fire of
France, a charitable two goals. The Northern Ireland Combined ladies’ team,
however, were less successful, going down 4-1 to New South Wales Police.
The local
fire and police teams will meet each other in a keenly-anticipated match that
could decide the medals. That takes place on Monday at 11am and a sizeable
crowd is expected.
The other
two games in the men’s division 2 were hotly contested, with Policia Sao Paolo
edging Florida Fire 4-3 and Singapore Police pulling off a fantastic and
unexpected 2-0 win over Brasilia State Police, leaving that group wide open.
Matches were
played in the appropriate spirit: committed attacking, full-blooded defending,
sportsmanship, respect. The round-robin nature of the tournament format also
means that even those teams that took heavy defeats have much still to play
for, a good move by the organisers.
Such a
pulsating start augured well for the afternoon session, when the over-35s
tournament got underway. The two games played attracted even more spectators
and the weather obliged, the clouds breaking to reveal warm sun and make for a
perfect football environment.
PSNI have
two teams in this section: the ‘official’ over-35s team and the ‘Mercuries’, a
team of officers who decided at the last minute to enter a team themselves
alongside the other team. They fully merited their place, pushing a high class HM
Prison side all the way only losing 3-2 to a late winner. Their colleagues,
meanwhile, came from behind to beat North California Fire 2-1 in a fiercely contested
match. The North Cali goalkeeper kept his team in the game with a sequence of agile
saves, and they could have snatched a equaliser had their strikers capitalised
on the late pressure they forced. Without doubt the ‘older’ tournament is one
to watch and the sides could, I am sure, give the ‘main’ teams a run.
As players,
coaches, families and friends trickled, then flowed, away from the grounds
afterwards, some informed me they planned to sample some Belfast hospitality
and, perhaps not in keeping with their normal training regimen, recover and rehydrate
‘the Irish way’ before their next game.
For me, the
strange mystique of The Dub has been dispelled in the most positive possible
way. The 2013 World Police and Fire Games are now very much open and will only
get even better.
The soccer
11s tournaments continue through to Wednesday 7 August at Queen’s Upper Malone.
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