IT’S STARTED – and if you can manage to ignore that first-half moment of madness which is the stuff of every goalkeeper’s nightmares – then the result wasn’t all that bad really if you were one of the island’s many England fans.

Certainly for the police the mood of Saturday night revellers following England’s first match in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa against the USA appears to have been an easy one to contain.

Overnight they say they dealt with only a handful of arrests and, significantly, these were from around the island rather than from any distinct hotspots in the Town centre.

As our reports reveal, they describe it as a ‘busy night’ but add that the incidents were not all football related.

With the hot weather sparking scores of parties and impromptu barbecues then trouble is perhaps, while unwelcome, rather unsurprising.
On the plus side, Town they say was ‘peaceful’ with many of those who were out and about in good spirits.

All of which would seem to bode well for policing during the rest of the tournament which will run through to July.

With England’s next fixture falling on Friday against Algeria, the police will again be on standby and just as keen to see the peaceful trend continue.

And they should have all our support. For a start not everyone, including visitors, will be donning a football shirt and raising a glass -

although in fairness they would probably be hard-pressed to avoid World Cup fever no matter where they went.

But also, as our coverage today reveals, when it comes to a sporting event on the world stage this sports-mad island will always get behind it.

And the great news is that all this has to be good for local recession-battered businesses.

So far, there’s been everything from corporate bashes, retail and pub promotions to sports club functions, mini tournaments and sports-themed events.

The closure of the seafront on Sunday with its sport-themed activities is another example of the island giving a nod to this summer’s greatest sporting show on earth.

And long may it all continue regardless of which nation you may or may not support … or even which goalkeeper is selected.