Georgia haven’t made things easy in their recent games against Ireland and having derailed Scotland’s Euro 2016 hopes, Saturday’s opponent’s feel they’re due something against the Boys in Green. Alastair Watt answers some of our questions from Tbilisi as the Republic’s World Cup bid hits crunch time.
Irish supporters never made it to Tbilisi when the Republic faced Georgia under Giovanni Trapatonni. Political instability moved the World Cup qualifier to Mainz, Germany. Last weekend, as the green jerseys touched down beneath the Caucuses Mountains, Tbilisi-based Mory Cunningham wondered if it was just another away match location or if the fans felt further East in this still emerging nation of stark contrasts?
For Georgia, football’s place as the number one sport in the country has come under threat as other sports, namely rugby and basketball, bring the country’s patriotic fans considerably more joy than the cycle of false dawns and disappointments in which Georgian football has long been mired, writes Alastair Watt.