season, Flanagan said.Theyre not a problem. Theyr

LONDON -- For the first time since hooligans rioted and forced their match to be abandoned 18 years ago, the England and Ireland soccer teams will take to the field on Wednesday, in a contest seen as a historic chance for redemption. Tensions are high in London ahead of the exhibition match, which is being staged as part of the English Football Associations 150th anniversary celebrations -- but has been causing deep anxiety at Wembley Stadium where the game will be played. A stream of warnings have been delivered by Englands coach, Roy Hodgson, imploring fans not to shout anti-Irish chants that could turn the clock back to an era of political and sectarian strife between the nations. The conflict endured for generations, with Britain hit by terrorist attacks during a long confrontation with the Irish Republican Army. But with a peace accord now in place and regular violence mostly a memory, match organizers say the time is right for the rivals to take each other on. "Its in the distance in the past now," Hodgson said. "There have been problems between the two countries. We cant rewrite history, but we are playing the match in completely different circumstances to the past." The new match also offers a chance for England to demonstrate it has made progress in tamping down on violence among some its supporters, who earned an international reputation in the 1980s and 90s for hooliganism. The team came close to being thrown out of the 2000 European Championship after rioting in Belgium. The 1995 match lasted just 28 minutes before the referee ordered the players off the field. England fans rampaged inside Dublins Lansdowne Road stadium, tearing up wooden benches and throwing them at opposing fans, before battling it out with Irish police. More than 20 people required hospital treatment and over 40 were arrested. Alan Kelly, who will be on Irelands bench on Wednesday as goalkeeping coach, was in goal 18 years ago and remembered the night as "horrendous." "The mayhem that was caused and the potentially life-threatening injuries some of the supporters could have sustained," Kelly recalled. "Some of the debris that came down from the stands was truly horrific." "We cant deny there have been some dark times," Hodgson said. The 1995 "friendly" game came three years before the landmark Good Friday Agreement that transformed relations between the U.K. and Ireland after a conflict stretching backing decades. Although the paramilitary bloodshed has receded considerably since the 1998 accord, there was a reminder of the ongoing civil strife in Northern Ireland the hours before the teams trained on Tuesday in London. Two pipe bombs were thrown at a police vehicle as two officers, who escaped injury as they responded to a bogus emergency call. No group claimed responsibility for the ambush in an Irish Catholic part of north Belfast, but Irish Republican Army splinter groups regularly target police as part of their efforts to undermine Northern Irelands peace process. The spectre of the IRA has been ever-present at England games for years, with fans chanting "No surrender to the IRA" at stadiums both home and abroad. Its these incendiary chants that the Football Association is pleading with fans to refrain from on Wednesday. "Wembley is considered the world over as the home of football and we ask those attending to not take part in any chanting -- particularly of a religious or political perspective -- which could cause offence to our visitors or fellow fans," Hodgson wrote in an email sent to ticketholders. The last England-Ireland match to be completed ended in a 1-1 draw in March 1991 in London. The countries have not attempted to play a friendly game since and havent had to play each other in qualifiers for the World Cup and European Championship because they havent been matched in a random draw. Police and stewards will be out in force to guard against any repeat of crowd violence. There was last violence at Wembley last month when Millwall fans fought with workers and each other during a loss to Wigan. In 2011, a Wales supporter was killed in an attack outside Wembley by an England fan, who was later jailed for three years. But for the most part, England fans have been travelling the world without major incidents for more than a decade. "Long before I came into the job I knew that the behaviour and reputation of England fans has developed into something we all should be very proud of," said Hodgson, who has been England coach for a year. "World Cups in South Africa and Germany in the last decade are shining examples of this. "So I hope everyone who follows England understands that position has been built by many fans over a long period of time and sadly it can be undone very quickly by a minority." Adidas Stan Smith Clearance . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Adidas Stan Smith Online Sale . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. http://www.cheapstansmithaustralia.com/ . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Buy Adidas Stan Smith Australia . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Adidas Stan Smith Australia . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cronulla want to make young guns Valentine Holmes and Jack Bird one-club players on the back of the Sharks historic NRL premiership win.The Sharks have the bulk of their 25-man roster coming off contract at the end of 2017 with Holmes and Bird leading a list of 16 players whose deals are set to expire.Rival clubs will be able to begin negotiating with Bird and Holmes on November 1 this year however coach Shane Flanagan said he hoped to have them signed and sealed before pre-season training begins in December.Birdy and Val will be done in the off-season, Flanagan said.Theyre not a problem. Theyre both committed to the club, theyre not going anywhere so I dont see an issue with that especially on the back of this (grand final win).With Michael Ennis having hung up his boots after Sundays win over Melbourne, Paul Gallen set to retire next year and the careers of Luke Lewis and Chris Heighington winding down, Bird and Holmes are seen as the future of the club.Bird, 21, this year eaarned his first NSW State of Origin jersey and is in the frame to have his name read out when Mal Meninga announces his Australian side for the Four Nations on Tuesday.ddddddddddddHolmes was a standout in the grand final, coming up with some important carries to get his side out of trouble, making 165m from 16 touches.Theyre key players for us, Flanagan said of Bird and Holmes.They both love the club, hopefully theyll be one-club players. I know Birdy has been somewhere else (St George Illawarra), but hopefully theyll be one-club players in the first grade-sense.FEEDING FRENZY* Cronulla players off-contract at the end of 2017Ben Barba, Gerard Beale, Jack Bird, Jayden Brailey, Nu Brown, Kurt Capewell, Manaia Cherrington, Sosaia Feki, Paul Gallen, Wade Graham, Valentine Holmes, Ricky Leutele, Joseph Paulo, Matt Prior, Jesse Sene-Lefao, Chad Townsend. ' ' '