FOOTBALL: The Late Late Show
HUGH SULLIVAN
You can stay at home and watch every match in the current European championships live on mainstream terrestrial TV. Two, three or even four matches per day have dominated both BBC and ITV schedules for days on end, shared on a multiplication of channels. But with the preliminary group stage brought to a conclusion with some mainly predictable outcomes – Scotland going home early, Germany and Spain winning plaudits for their attacking flair, Gareth Southgate’s England team squeezing through with just two goals scored in three games – last Sunday was time to abandon the home armchair and join the community experience. If the way the England team plays causes you to yell abuse and throw things at the screen, it may be more cathartic to do it along with fellow supporters.
Fans in the Pilot Bar salute England victory
There’s a fan zone on Hastings pier with a giant screen and overpriced beer, and several bars in the town centre offer cramped views and sweaty companionship. But for the five o’clock kick-off against Slovakia, I opt for the Pilot Bar at the Hastings United ground in Elphinstone Road – a family atmosphere of kids, young footballers, season-ticket regulars.
The language doesn’t respect family values for very long, most of it expressed in indignation at the erratic behaviour of the referee and the stumbling incoherence of the English team. Our revered superstars seem incapable of making any incisive moves to break down the massed defence in front of them, though they spend long periods shuffling the ball sideways and backwards between midfield, defence and goalkeeper. The Slovaks, by contrast, counter-attack with precision, passing in neat triangles, finding gaps in the English back line and exposing them. It’s no surprise to see their striker Ivan Schranz poke them ahead halfway through the first half after a mix-up between John Stones and Mark Guehi. The volume of complaints around the room about the team’s tactics and personnel and Southgate’s responsibility for them moves up a gear.
At half-time, the TV pundits – Roy Keane, Gary Neville and Ian Wright – agree that the manager needs to make immediate changes. Get Cole Palmer on, get Anthony Gordon on, get some energy! But the English team emerges for the second half unchanged for another 15 minutes. When Palmer eventually replaces Kieron Trippier, there’s some progress: Declan Rice hits the post with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, Harry Kane heads wide from a free kick. The spectators may be on the edge of their seats, but put their hands to their heads in ever-mounting frustration as the score stays at 1-0. The 90 minutes are up, we’re into the last of the six added minutes. The commentator is telling us what this defeat will mean for English football in general and Southgate in particular – the end of an era.
Then it happens. From nowhere, Jude Bellingham’s outrageous overhead kick flies into the Slovak net. Pandemonium in the Pilot Bar, as across the nation. Men, women, kids leap vertical, arms in the air, shouts not so much of triumph as of laughter. An hour and a half of frustration and misery turned into ecstasy by just one moment of athletic prowess. That’s football for you.
Kane’s winning header at the start of extra time is equally celebrated, like the same joke told twice and getting almost the same laugh because we enjoyed the original so much. Another 25 minutes of jittery defensive struggle ensues before the 2-1 win is confirmed. The kids rush out into the yard outside to mimic the game they’ve just watched. The rest of us emerge dazed and head-sore, but ready to surrender ourselves to the drama again tomorrow afternoon (Saturday) when England take on Switzerland in the quarterfinal.
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