Tears flowed at Upper Malone in Belfast yesterday when the Czech Republic's hopes of a semifinal place at the European Junior Nations Cup were extinguished by a 2-1 defeat by Ukraine. Putting things into perspective, Belarus were smiling despite a 10-0 loss to world champions and gold medal favourites Holland.
A square meal after breakfast is a luxury the former Soviets cannot afford after a broken down bus left them with no alternative but to fly to Belfast. They had to offload two squad members to help finance the trip.
Today, they will smile because the tournament sponsors, the Sports Council for Northern Ireland, are putting on a buffet lunch.
Belarus and Czech Republic players are being billeted at Queens University, but the Irish are staying in a relatively opulent hotel along with today's opponents, England, most of whose players receive lottery funding.
Ireland require victory if they are to finish third in Pool A and secure a potentially easier first classification match.
Holland, Germany, Spain and probably Ukraine will contest Friday's semi-finals.
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