The Long Road to Kazakhstan
Credit:
St. Patrick's Athletic qualified for the Europa League Second Round having beaten Icelandic team IBV 2-1 on aggregate. Their next opponents, FC Shakhter Karagandy of Kazakhstan, meant a gruelling away trip to the very edge of Europe. St. Pats midfielder Shane McFaul talks about the journey.
So, after over 21 hours of travelling from Dublin to London to Almaty and then on to our final destination Astana, we are FINALLY here in Kazakhstan! We arrived in Dublin Airport at 2pm and our first flight to London was at 4pm.
As we waited to check-in for our flight we were in the same Terminal as the Bohemians squad. They were flying out for their Europa League 2nd Round Qualifier vs Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia. I got chatting to my former Sporting Fingal team-mates Ger O'Brien and Robert Bayly.
No doubt Bohs face a tough task ahead of them but with quality players like Ger and Bocker in their squad, with Europa League experience, I'm sure they can get a great result to bring back to Dalymount Park next week. On another note it was great to see Shamrock Rovers get off to a good start in their Champions League Game vs Flora Tallinn with a 1-0 win in Tallaght. I'm good friends with some of their current squad and I'm sure they will take confidence from that going into the 2nd leg.
Ronan Finn and Gary O'Neill are two of the league's finest players and I'm sure that with players of that calibre Rovers can complete the job in Estonia. I know there is intense rivalry at home with Bohs, Rovers and ourselves, along with Sligo Rovers who play in the next stage of the Euopa league next week, but I'm sure everyone would want all of our Irish teams to be successful in Europe. I saw numerous scarves and tops of several different LOI clubs in Richmond Park last Thursday when we defeated IBV of Iceland and no doubt, along with our own amazing fans, they played their part in helping us get the win.
So, onto our journey and as we set off for our London flight I had to do a double take.... had we made a new signing for the trip? A member of the travelling party bore an uncanny resemblance to none other than Borat, the Kazakhstani native??? To my disappointment it wasn't Borat but in fact Brian Shortall, who had grown one hell of an impressive bushy moustache! Tom Selleck comparisons were being bandied about also but in the end it was decided that he could be taken on as a Borat double if there was to be a sequel to the hit movie!!
Our first stop was London where we encountered a few issues regarding visas, but they were quickly resolved and we were all set for our 9pm flight to Almaty. The flight itself was almost eight hours long but we were entertained with movies "The Green Lantern" and " Just Go With it". The first movie was an absolute STINKER but "Just Go With It" starring Adam Sandler made up for it. I'm not gonna lie but the main reason that film was successful was because of the "acting skills" of a certain Brooklyn Decker! That image of her in a yellow bikini will stay with me forever!
Anyways... when we arrived in Almaty we had a four hour wait before our next flight to Astana. Not ideal, but we were kept entertained by the vision of Daryl Kavanagh in his newly acquired Black Traditional Kazakh Hat! Presumably Google Images would be needed to imagine the hat in its full glory but personally I think Dil pulls it off well!! Obviously when Brian Shortall was spotted sporting the latest fashion accessory not much notice was taken as he just looked like a local wandering around the local airport!
Finally we touched down in Astana and we were then taken in a mini bus to the Imperia Hotel. On the way I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. The architecture of some of the buildings were very impressive. Nothing at all like what was portrayed in the aforementioned movie Borat. Our hotel is of a high standard and after a little nap, myself and my roomie Daryl Kavanagh joined the rest of the squad for dinner. At the time of writing my Playstation 3 has not yet been linked up to the room's TV but no doubt there will be a flurry of activity when it is. As was the case in Iceland, Fifa11 will be the game that will see the most action. Some of the players brought their own joypads. Unfortunately Danny North couldn't make the trip through injury, so my next threat as FIFA Champ would have to be Jake Carroll. The McMillan's are all talk, Ian Daly is decent to be fair and I'm not playing against Derek Doyle because of the Hot Streak he is on at the minute!
So, after a gruelling 20+ hour trip it's bedtime. Tomorrow we will wake up to face a really really tough game vs Shaktar Karagandy. I'm confident we can get a great result to keep the tie alive to bring home to Richmond Park next Thursday. I believe, as with the IBV game in Iceland, the game will be streamed live on the big screen in McDowells pub in Inchicore. My flatmate at home, Patrick, went to view the live stream with his girlfriend Tina and they both said the atmosphere in McDowells was electric. I'm sure it will be the same tomorrow and hopefully we can bring back a great result for our amazing fans in Inchicore next week.
So, after over 21 hours of travelling from Dublin to London to Almaty and then on to our final destination Astana, we are FINALLY here in Kazakhstan! We arrived in Dublin Airport at 2pm and our first flight to London was at 4pm.
As we waited to check-in for our flight we were in the same Terminal as the Bohemians squad. They were flying out for their Europa League 2nd Round Qualifier vs Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia. I got chatting to my former Sporting Fingal team-mates Ger O'Brien and Robert Bayly.
No doubt Bohs face a tough task ahead of them but with quality players like Ger and Bocker in their squad, with Europa League experience, I'm sure they can get a great result to bring back to Dalymount Park next week. On another note it was great to see Shamrock Rovers get off to a good start in their Champions League Game vs Flora Tallinn with a 1-0 win in Tallaght. I'm good friends with some of their current squad and I'm sure they will take confidence from that going into the 2nd leg.
Ronan Finn and Gary O'Neill are two of the league's finest players and I'm sure that with players of that calibre Rovers can complete the job in Estonia. I know there is intense rivalry at home with Bohs, Rovers and ourselves, along with Sligo Rovers who play in the next stage of the Euopa league next week, but I'm sure everyone would want all of our Irish teams to be successful in Europe. I saw numerous scarves and tops of several different LOI clubs in Richmond Park last Thursday when we defeated IBV of Iceland and no doubt, along with our own amazing fans, they played their part in helping us get the win.
So, onto our journey and as we set off for our London flight I had to do a double take.... had we made a new signing for the trip? A member of the travelling party bore an uncanny resemblance to none other than Borat, the Kazakhstani native??? To my disappointment it wasn't Borat but in fact Brian Shortall, who had grown one hell of an impressive bushy moustache! Tom Selleck comparisons were being bandied about also but in the end it was decided that he could be taken on as a Borat double if there was to be a sequel to the hit movie!!
Our first stop was London where we encountered a few issues regarding visas, but they were quickly resolved and we were all set for our 9pm flight to Almaty. The flight itself was almost eight hours long but we were entertained with movies "The Green Lantern" and " Just Go With it". The first movie was an absolute STINKER but "Just Go With It" starring Adam Sandler made up for it. I'm not gonna lie but the main reason that film was successful was because of the "acting skills" of a certain Brooklyn Decker! That image of her in a yellow bikini will stay with me forever!
Anyways... when we arrived in Almaty we had a four hour wait before our next flight to Astana. Not ideal, but we were kept entertained by the vision of Daryl Kavanagh in his newly acquired Black Traditional Kazakh Hat! Presumably Google Images would be needed to imagine the hat in its full glory but personally I think Dil pulls it off well!! Obviously when Brian Shortall was spotted sporting the latest fashion accessory not much notice was taken as he just looked like a local wandering around the local airport!
Finally we touched down in Astana and we were then taken in a mini bus to the Imperia Hotel. On the way I must admit I was pleasantly surprised. The architecture of some of the buildings were very impressive. Nothing at all like what was portrayed in the aforementioned movie Borat. Our hotel is of a high standard and after a little nap, myself and my roomie Daryl Kavanagh joined the rest of the squad for dinner. At the time of writing my Playstation 3 has not yet been linked up to the room's TV but no doubt there will be a flurry of activity when it is. As was the case in Iceland, Fifa11 will be the game that will see the most action. Some of the players brought their own joypads. Unfortunately Danny North couldn't make the trip through injury, so my next threat as FIFA Champ would have to be Jake Carroll. The McMillan's are all talk, Ian Daly is decent to be fair and I'm not playing against Derek Doyle because of the Hot Streak he is on at the minute!
So, after a gruelling 20+ hour trip it's bedtime. Tomorrow we will wake up to face a really really tough game vs Shaktar Karagandy. I'm confident we can get a great result to keep the tie alive to bring home to Richmond Park next Thursday. I believe, as with the IBV game in Iceland, the game will be streamed live on the big screen in McDowells pub in Inchicore. My flatmate at home, Patrick, went to view the live stream with his girlfriend Tina and they both said the atmosphere in McDowells was electric. I'm sure it will be the same tomorrow and hopefully we can bring back a great result for our amazing fans in Inchicore next week.
