9.42 – Wahay! Here we go again for another day of Euro fun. The miserable Monday morning hangover brought on by Ireland’s performance in Poznan is starting to slowly fade and we’re gradually falling in love with football again. How about that Andriy Shevchenko lad? He can play a bit.

Niall Kelly here, “fresh” from my weekend’s exertions with Trap’s Army. Join us for the next few hours as we keep abreast of all the news on day five of Euro 2012.

9.52 – If you missed last night’s late game, you missed a good ‘un. Former AC Milan and Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko was already pretty much the most popular man in Ukraine, and then he went and did this.






The win was Ukraine’s first-ever at the European Championships, on home soil in Kiev, with the winning goals scored by an aging national icon who was rubbished by many as “past it”. Who writes these scripts, seriously?

10.03 – But enough about the Ukrainians and King Sheva — what about Dickey Dunne and the Boys in Green? Ireland are due out on the Gdynia pitch any minute now for this morning’s training session.

Afterwards, Marco Tardelli will sit down for a quick chat with the media where he’ll probably end up answering questions about Dunne’s blisters and the possibility of either Jonathan Walters or James McClean getting game time against Spain on Thursday evening.

At yesterday’s press conference , Il Trap seemed quietly confident that Ireland can pull off a massive upset in Gdansk:

We know they are technical, but I can also remember Bayern Munich dominating Chelsea, Chelsea only had one corner (which they scored from) and (went onto) win the game. Football is like that.

We know they are good, we know they have confidence.

10.15 – The FAI have gone for a more optimistic start to the day. This handy little piece of trivia comes via their Facebook page.

We’ve a massive urge to break into a chorus of Shirley Bassey and the Propellerheads “History Repeating” but we’ll spare you for now.

10.30 – But the big news from Poland this morning concerns a young man from Sallins, Co Kildare called Eamon Keegan. He’s about to become one of the most famous members of Trap’s Army after a photo of him “getting acquainted” with a Croatian lady in the stands on Sunday evening started to do the rounds.

Even Sean St Ledger is trying to get his name trending on Twitter.

If you want to see the pic, you’ll have to type that url out yourself. A word of advice though — make sure your boss isn’t standing over your shoulder as it’s NSFW.

11.32 – If you watched France v England last night, you probably noticed the pleasantly peaceful atmosphere inside the stadium. That was because some bureaucrat had the foresight to find that utterly tedious England brass band and confiscate their instruments.

Sadly, it seems that some people actually wanted to hear their infernal din and now there appears to be a minor diplomatic crisis brewing in Donetsk, lead by Pukka Pies. Here’s their statement:

Pukka Pies England Band Excluded in Donetsk

Pukka Pies will be making an official representation to UEFA following the exclusion of the Pukka Pies England Band for the England versus France at the European Championship.

The Pukka Pies England Band were excluded from the Donbass Arena on Monday evening and wereasked to remove their instruments from the stadium.

It is the first England game the band have missed in 18 years, a run that includes over 300 consecutive appearances.

The way the band have been treated leaves a sour taste in the mouth and is very disappointing and we will be making an official representation to UEFA.

We will be doing everything that we can to make sure that the band take their rightful place at the England versus Sweden game in Kiev.

11.55 – But enough of that rubbish, how about tonight’s big game between Poland and Russia? To describe the two countries as “old rivals”, “bitter enemies” or anything of the sort would be a gross understatement.

The photo splash in SuperExpress — which shows striker Robert Lewandowski, manager Francizek Smuda and (I think) replacement keeper PrzemysÅ‚aw TytoÅ„ — dressed in cavalry uniform captures the mood in Poland perfectly. The article itself calls on the team to become national heroes by replicating the Miracle at the Vistula, the decisive Polish win in 1920 which ended the Polish-Soviet war.