Northern Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Finland is significant for more than one reason – but the fact that victory would be the national side’s biggest result for 30 years is unquestionable.
In a reflection of society in these parts, football remains a rare pursuit on the sabbath and Windsor Park will be the scene of protests from religious groups aggrieved about an international fixture taking place, despite it being a Uefa calendar ruling and not at any whim of the Irish Football Association. Then there is the reality of high-profile sporting events routinely taking place practically everywhere else.
While there will be disenchantment from some quarters, there is the promise of a soul-enriching Sunday service on the field. This could be a genuine day of action, with victory for Michael O’Neill twisting flights of fancy into an irresistible force, France the ultimate destination. As Group F settles, few had imagined nine points from four outings would have been achieved. Yet there are, up eight places to 43rd in the Fifa rankings. Confident, yet measured, could aptly describe both team and manager. A studious individual, who has worked as a financial consultant, the 45-year-old national coach could never be accused of braggadocio.
Nevertheless, with landmark triumphs in Hungary and Greece, and a home win over the Faroe Islands, optimistic ranks in the self-styled Green and White Army are making noises. Supporters proclaim what O’Neill must privately feel: this could be Northern Ireland’s finest hour since their last main tournament participation – the Mexico 86 World Cup finals, reached courtesy of a goalless draw at Wembley in November 1985. Persistent years of listless failure have, thankfully, slipped away, and it is still a rather peculiar feeling for the present generation to somehow be confronted with wonderful possibility.
Today, it seems incongruous that a plain, under-reconstruction Belfast venue is the cradle, rather than the graveyard, of ambition, for a side who occasionally threaten but have often fizzled out, particularly in O’Neill’s early days when he went 10 games before his first win.
The belated Windsor Park revamp, into a polished 18,000-capacity stadium, ready in October, is somehow appropriate. As the yawning, steel constructions tower over the old territory, the dreams of Northern Ireland simultaneously soar. It is just that the Finns – who have claimed four points and need victory to stay in contention – must be accounted for. This was, until relatively recently, the kind of fixture that troubled the Irish. Nights of magical conquest against Spain, Russia and England were inevitably tempered by baffling disappointments against Azerbaijan, Israel and Luxembourg.
O’Neill’s response was to tighten up much the same players, demanding 90 minutes of full concentration and sweeping away old habits of self-destruction. Where previously the team would have shipped late goals, the reverse is now occurring. Kyle Lafferty’s winner in Budapest in September was fine reward for absolute focus. From match day one the tone was set and a forward partnership with Jamie Ward is improving.
O’Neill suggests that previous Northern Irish squads would not have had the chutzpah to visit places like Hungary and Greece and expect to win. Why should there now be a retreat to restrictive beliefs after such audacious wins?
Second in the group (with two qualifying automatically) the best news for the manager is an established side. With such a small pool, Northern Ireland simply cannot absorb the loss of key men. It was no coincidence that the sole defeat in this campaign, away to the group leaders, Romania, occurred minus captain, Steven Davis. The Southampton midfielder’s deftness of touch was much missed.
In attack, Lafferty has smoothed out a questionable temperament and, the West Brom defender Gareth McAuley, at 35, exudes leadership and presence.
O’Neill and his counterpart on Sunday, Mixu Paatelainen, go back a long way. They were team-mates at Dundee United and, later, part of the O’Neill apprenticeship was a period assisting the likable Finn at Cowdenbeath. The manager’s genuine appreciation to have this challenge of guiding the Irish towards France probably stems from his periods at Brechin City and Shamrock Rovers, and this particular friends-at-war dugout duel will be intriguing.
O’Neill rested a host of regulars for the unremarkable, midweek 1-0 friendly defeat away to Scotland and Northern Ireland are at full strength. Having handled the pressure of going to Greece a few months ago and building on that initial momentum, the squad, also containing streetwise figures, keeper Roy Carroll and defender Aaron Hughes, understand what is at stake, especially with four out of the remaining six ties being on home soil.
So, this is it. Well, almost. Match nights at Windsor – even with its current limited capacity – resound to adopted anthem Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline. Good times never seemed so good. Ending Finland’s qualification hopes – and inspiring their own – would spark a special Sunday chorus of Stand Up for the Ulstermen.
