91Èȱ¬

On Thursday 17 July, Manchester City began their European campaign, having got into the UEFA Cup through the Fair Play League. And their first fixture involved a trip to the remote Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic to take on EB Streymur - a round trip of 1224 miles!

91Èȱ¬ Manchester's City reporter Ian Cheeseman went where other reporters feared to tread to report back for 91Èȱ¬ Radio Manchester. Read his diary below:

Day 4 – Blogs, boats and balls

What an unexpected way to end my stay in the Faroes - no, not the result, most of us would have expected the win, but it seems my blog is reaching further than I thought.

City fans in Torshavn

I just went for a late night snack to the local fast food hut, to find an EB Streymur fan who welcomed me with… "You're Ian Cheeseman, I've been reading your blog."

I never thought someone in the Faroe Islands would know me or follow my story. Another first, just like the build-up to tonight's game.

I'd started early with sports bulletins and interviews back to 91Èȱ¬ Radio Manchester, followed by a hurried journey to the port where I'd been invited, by the local tourist board, to travel on the schooner Nordlysid, around the Island Nolsoy - a three hour trip. I was told the Manchester City officials had been invited too, so I decided another adventure was well worth the rush.

Captain Ian Cheeseman?

It seems the City people had either not got the message or had opted for the bus tour instead so I travelled in an elite party of four - my companions were three Danish students, Christian, Dorte and Mette. Christian, sadly, was a rugby fan.

Captain Enni couldn't have been a better host and first officer Henrik Hansen told me that “this boat is built for the North Atlantic conditions, so you need have no fears. The boat is 63 feet long and and can reach speeds of nine knots."

I even got to steer the schooner briefly. I'd like to say it was great to feel the wind blowing through my hair, but the pictures tell you that couldn't possibly be the case.

I saw hundreds of puffins diving into the sea - or in the case of the young ones, learning to fly. A truly exhilarating experience. I've never prepared for a football commentary like that before!

Louis to the rescue

I was soon brought back down to earth though. When I got to the stadium at about 1pm the ISDN line which connects me back to Manchester didn't work.

Ian and Louis

Two and a half hours later, and with a rumbling stomach keeping me company, my new best friend Louis, the Faroese telephone engineer, got me connected. What a relief, though I think I’d have been okay, as before that the national TV and radio stations had offered help by bringing me some of their equipment.

I rushed back my accommodation to get the rest of what I need, gulped down a meal and got back in time to start my planned pre-match build-up.

The match was something of an anticlimax after the week-long build-up, a straight forward 2-0 win thanks to goals from Martin Petrov and Dietmar Hamann, who later told me that he “didn't notice the seagulls flying around the stadium until the crowd got excited by them in the second half. My goal fell nicely for me and I hit it perfectly and fortunately it went in."

Ian takes up his position in the bedroom

Before the game, the Trawler 12 were introduced to Mark Hughes and got T-shirts from Magni Arne, who's promised to visit England for the second leg. If there's any problem with his flight to Manchester, I'm sure the boys will send a fishing boat to collect him.

That's the end of my adventure then. It's an early start Friday, with a 7 o'clock flight back to Stansted and then the car back to the North West.

I've met some great people and seen some wonderful things and in all honesty, even if City make it all the way to the final of the UEFA Cup in Istanbul next May, I'll never forget the magnificent Faroe Islands.

To read 'Day 3' of Ian's Faroe Islands diary, click 'NEXT'

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