Freed from the mire: Magnificent fans make Wales-Northern Ireland special

Hadn’t Britain made Europe suffer enough this week?

Wales versus Northern Ireland – refereed by an Englishman – proved another event to confound a continental audience.

A lumpen, dismal match soundtracked raucously by two of Euro 2016’s best sets of fans – another curiosity to make Europe wonder just what they’re putting in their tea over there.

How the action on the pitch contrasted with the joyful scenes off it.

Welsh and Northern Ireland fans mixed freely before kick-off in bars near the ground; the atmosphere boozy and boisterous but never threatening.

Inside the Parc des Princes, Land Of My Fathers would have make hairs stand up on Anne Robinson’s neck, while the Will Grigg refrain bowed out in grand style.

The cacophony thundered on regardless of events off the pitch – which is just as well really.

The first half drew taunts of ‘Are You England In Disguise?’ from both sets of fans – not a compliment, but a pretty good indication of what made it so unwatchable - both sides were producing an England knockout rounds performance; high on nerves, low on precision.

In the past fortnight we have seen countless games in which modest teams raised their game thrillingly. This was not one of them.

It looked every bit like a match between players from Blackburn, Reading, Leeds and Forest - Wales and Northern Ireland put the Championship in European Championship.

Probably not the dream appointment referee Atkinson imagined, and the English ref duly added roughly three nanoseconds of stoppage time after perhaps the worst first half of the tournament.

Every time Bale received the ball, two Northern Irishmen harassed him to the point of impotence, drawing giant ironic cheers when he dragged a shot well wide.

Things picked up a little after the break, as Sam Vokes headed wide and Bale tested Niall McGovern with a free-kick.

It seemed grimly appropriate that this one was decided by an own-goal. Gareth McAuley had to do something with Bale’s cross, given Hal Robson-Kanu’s presence behind him – but preferably not that.

Superficially, Wales did not look like potential tournament winners in anything but scoreline – but the ability to struggle through when frustrated and misfiring is often what characterizes champions.

They will not get away with another performance like this – but there is nothing to suggest they will produce one.

But it would be wrong to fixate on a rotten game of football when the day’s best entertainment came before and after kick-off.

Too often football seems a chore. Fans stung by expensive tickets, yet who leave early because it’s more important to beat the rush than experience the rush of a late goal.

There were no early leavers here. Long after full-time, the Welsh roared as the players’ children scored goals near them.

The Green and White hordes, not wanting the part to end, stuck around even longer and were treated to back-to-back renditions of Freed From Desire over the PA system.

This is not a match that will live long in the memory of anyone outside the two countries that took part.