Bored fans seek shootout salvation

COLOGNE, June 27 (Reuters) Bored fans jeered, whistled and groaned with frustration during the World Cup second round match between Switzerland and Ukraine before a penalty shootout brought them relief from a dire 0-0 draw in Cologne.

After sitting through a turgid 90 minutes of goalless football, Swiss fans jangled their cow bells in despair at the thought of another half an hour of extra time.

A penalty shootout brought more misery for the Swiss as their team missed their first three kicks and allowed Ukraine to claim a place in the quarter-finals.

''The game was a catastrophe,'' said Roland Luedi from Zurich, shaking his head as he left the stadium.

''People were whistling and booing all around me. We might as well have had penalties at halftime.'' German fan Reinhard Schauer, who watched the game as a neutral, chose to queue up for beer during extra time rather than watch the action.

''The game is pretty awful but at least the mood in the crowd is good. There is plenty of whistling and people are shouting sneering remarks,'' he said.

Wrapped in a Swiss flag, 28-year-old Andreas Flury said he could understand why many in the crowd were jeering.

''If I wasn't Swiss I'd say this was a boring game. But as I am Swiss I think it has been a thriller,'' he said.

However, Flury said he had no regrets about shelling out money for the tickets.

''I'm Swiss. Money isn't an issue!'' he added.

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