This time a year ago, it seemed as though Roy Carroll had faded into obscurity. A far cry from the days that the man from Enniskillen stood between the posts at Old Trafford, Roy had become something of a journeyman having applied his trade elsewhere in England, as well as Scotland and Denmark.
It was around this time last year that the idea of launching a Northern Ireland national team blog first appealed to me. I didn’t need an expert in football betting to tell me that Nigel Worthington was on his way out of the job or who his replacement was likely to be.
At the time, I was probably at one of my lowest ebbs as a Northern Ireland supporter. The memories of the great victories over Spain and England were looking more and more like nights of the past. There was little in the performances of the team that suggested the side were even heading in the right direction. Things could only get better; I figured and they have.
Roy Carroll was not a happy goalkeeper following’s Northern Ireland’s draw with Luxembourg last month. He summed up the mood of the nation with his analysis of the result and few were able to disagree with him. However, given the sharp turnaround for last week’s incredible draw with Portugal, the ‘keeper is now of the hope that Northern Ireland have set a standard for the rest of the qualifying campaign.
For the first time in seven away matches, Northern Ireland avoided defeat and they did it against the side ranked third in the world. The last match away from Windsor Park that we took something from was against the Faroe Islands. I think we’re allowed to get a little carried away.
Supporting the Northern Ireland national football team from a fresh perspective.
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