Euro Doom and Gloom

Lacklustre performances left Wales, England, Scotland and the Irish teams all making qualification for the Euro 2012 finals hard work. The bookmakers would not have like to have gambled on the results either as Wales were sunk 4-1 by Switzerland and England continued to show how they badly they performed in the summer’s World Cup with a desperately poor 0-0 draw against Montenegro.

The unluckiest sports bets of the night must surely have been with the Scots who initially went 2-0 down, only to rally and with only half an hour to go pulled the scores back level. Spain were not to be denied and showed their World Cup class to make a winning goal with 11 minutes of play left.

Even the Northern Irish defied the betting odds against the Faroe Islands. Not one of European footballs powerhouses but the Faroese taking the lead on the hour made the Northern Ireland team work hard for the 1-1 draw and a solitary point.

The Republic of Ireland also had to settle for a 1-1 against Slovakia. The scores were even by the 36-minute and Robbie Keane had the chance to put the Irish boys ahead just before half time with a penalty but managed to squander the opportunity.

Sadly the highlights of the night will be left to the Serbian and Italian fans that decided rioting was a better option than watching football. The referee was left with no option but to abandon the game after 6 minutes, as fans tore up Genoa. Disgraceful scenes where shown live as Serbian hooligans threw flairs onto the pitch and cut protective netting in an attempt to reach the Italian supporters.