A GR-EIGHT NIGHT
A GR-EIGHT NIGHT
Goals Flo as Town greets superstars
Omagh Town 0
Chelsea 8
By Steven Beacom
SEEING is believing they say but on numerous occasions last night I surveyed my surroundings and shook my head in disbelief.
On the football pitch in front of me were international superstars such as Roberto Di Matteo, Dan Petrescu, Tore Andre Flo and Gustavo Poyet.
Just 10 yards to my right the faces were even more familiar; Dennis Wise, Graeme Le Saux, Albert Ferrer, Gianfranco Zola, Ed de Goey and Chris Sutton all sitting in the stand.
Beside them were three World Cup winners; Marcel Desailly, Frank Lebeouf and Didier Deschamps, the little man who actually lifted the most famous trophy in sport and made those incredible scenes in Paris 12 months ago.
Give or take a penny or two, there was around �75m worth of footballing talent in the vicinity.
This wasn't the Stade de France though, it wasn't Wembley, it wasn't even Stanford Bridge. This was St Julian's Road, home to humble Omagh Town FC.
The tiny Tyrone ground had never 'seen anything like it. Chelsea superstars were here at this modest venue and to be honest I could hardly believe my eyes.
The last time I was at St Julian's was back in March on a bitterly cold night for an Irish League game.
About 200 hardy souls braved the elements that evening - par for the course unless Glentoran or Linfield are the opposition.
Last night around 7,000 turned up to watch what turned out to be an exhibition of football and a fitting tribute to those poor people who lost their lives in the tragic Omagh bombing last August, the reason for staging this friendly in the first place.
It may have been disappointing that the likes of Zola and Sutton didn't play but that's the most minor of complaints.
Young talent such as the magical Jody Morris and Mikeal Forsell displayed enough in the 8-0 victory to show that the London Blues have great strength and depth for their domestic and european challenge this season.
The scoreline didn't matter this was all about entertainment and enjoyment - but for the record Flo scored four with Di Matteo, Mark Nicholls, Poyet and Morris grabbing one apiece.
Town were competitive but as expected outclassed. Their past and present players could hardly believe who was gracing the Tyrone turf either.
A drive through Omagh to St Julian's normally takes a couple of minutes on match night but with Chelsea here it last 45.
Everyone, whether they were in cars, buses or on foot seemed to be wearing the famous Chelsea shirt.
Even the sky stayed blue for the occasion.
It was a credit to the Stamford Bridge club, Gianluca Vialli and his players to come to this provincial town and raise money for the Omagh Bomb Appeal Fund but let's not forget the part played by Omagh Town in all this.
I doubt if manager Roy McCreadie, such a force behind the organisation of this game and those with Manchester United and Liverpool
to follow, took the smile off his face all evening.
The look of admiration when Morris brilliantly chipped in Chelsea's sixth told how much he was enjoying it.
There was a huge sense of pride for McCreadie and his club and of course the people of Omagh who have suffered so much.
The work completed to the ground is quite something. Indeed, the two new stands make St Julian's Road into one of the top footballing arenas in the country. No kidding.
I sincerely hope they keep it this way, with the new 7,000 capacity, even after Liverpool's visit in October if that is at all possible.
Before that, European champions and treble winners United will fill the place next week and raise even more money for the worthy cause in the process.
And guess what? We'll be able to go through the whole 'seeing is not necessarily believing' thing again.
I for one am looking forward to it and I know the people of Omagh are too.
Goals Flo as Town greets superstars
Omagh Town 0
Chelsea 8
By Steven Beacom
SEEING is believing they say but on numerous occasions last night I surveyed my surroundings and shook my head in disbelief.
On the football pitch in front of me were international superstars such as Roberto Di Matteo, Dan Petrescu, Tore Andre Flo and Gustavo Poyet.
Just 10 yards to my right the faces were even more familiar; Dennis Wise, Graeme Le Saux, Albert Ferrer, Gianfranco Zola, Ed de Goey and Chris Sutton all sitting in the stand.
Beside them were three World Cup winners; Marcel Desailly, Frank Lebeouf and Didier Deschamps, the little man who actually lifted the most famous trophy in sport and made those incredible scenes in Paris 12 months ago.
Give or take a penny or two, there was around �75m worth of footballing talent in the vicinity.
This wasn't the Stade de France though, it wasn't Wembley, it wasn't even Stanford Bridge. This was St Julian's Road, home to humble Omagh Town FC.
The tiny Tyrone ground had never 'seen anything like it. Chelsea superstars were here at this modest venue and to be honest I could hardly believe my eyes.
The last time I was at St Julian's was back in March on a bitterly cold night for an Irish League game.
About 200 hardy souls braved the elements that evening - par for the course unless Glentoran or Linfield are the opposition.
Last night around 7,000 turned up to watch what turned out to be an exhibition of football and a fitting tribute to those poor people who lost their lives in the tragic Omagh bombing last August, the reason for staging this friendly in the first place.
It may have been disappointing that the likes of Zola and Sutton didn't play but that's the most minor of complaints.
Young talent such as the magical Jody Morris and Mikeal Forsell displayed enough in the 8-0 victory to show that the London Blues have great strength and depth for their domestic and european challenge this season.
The scoreline didn't matter this was all about entertainment and enjoyment - but for the record Flo scored four with Di Matteo, Mark Nicholls, Poyet and Morris grabbing one apiece.
Town were competitive but as expected outclassed. Their past and present players could hardly believe who was gracing the Tyrone turf either.
A drive through Omagh to St Julian's normally takes a couple of minutes on match night but with Chelsea here it last 45.
Everyone, whether they were in cars, buses or on foot seemed to be wearing the famous Chelsea shirt.
Even the sky stayed blue for the occasion.
It was a credit to the Stamford Bridge club, Gianluca Vialli and his players to come to this provincial town and raise money for the Omagh Bomb Appeal Fund but let's not forget the part played by Omagh Town in all this.
I doubt if manager Roy McCreadie, such a force behind the organisation of this game and those with Manchester United and Liverpool
to follow, took the smile off his face all evening.
The look of admiration when Morris brilliantly chipped in Chelsea's sixth told how much he was enjoying it.
There was a huge sense of pride for McCreadie and his club and of course the people of Omagh who have suffered so much.
The work completed to the ground is quite something. Indeed, the two new stands make St Julian's Road into one of the top footballing arenas in the country. No kidding.
I sincerely hope they keep it this way, with the new 7,000 capacity, even after Liverpool's visit in October if that is at all possible.
Before that, European champions and treble winners United will fill the place next week and raise even more money for the worthy cause in the process.
And guess what? We'll be able to go through the whole 'seeing is not necessarily believing' thing again.
I for one am looking forward to it and I know the people of Omagh are too.
Further Information
Publisher: THE IRISH NEWS
Ref: IN/0501
Published Date: 29-Jul-99
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