WHILE most England supporters back home were relieved after the 1-0 win over Slovenia, there were heavy sighs from sections of the supporters in Port Elizabeth.

That was because as finishing as runners-up in Group C and setting up an exciting game against Germany in the last 16, we might now have to make the 18 hour journey in the car to Cape Town for the quarter final.

We are now moving on to Durban for the Brazil v Portugal game. The route we will travel from Port Elizabeth, along the Eastern Cape area, is not really recommended for tourists but we think we will be OK because there will be so many police around with it being the World Cup to ensure safety.

Everyone is pretty gutted that England finished as runners-up, because it also means that we will miss the Argentina v Mexico game that we had tickets for.

At least England’s performance against Slovenia was better than the Algeria one.

A few people were unsure about Fabio Capello’s selection of Jermaine Defoe in the starting 11 but he was most people’s man of the match after scoring the crucial goal.

Wayne Rooney’s form is a little worrying. I wonder whether he is carrying a knock that is being hidden by the England camp, because he’s certainly not 100%.

But then you have to start with a player like Rooney because of what he can do.

I haven’t spoken to any Germany supporters yet but I can’t wait for Sunday’s game. That is why we came here, to see games such as that one.

I think that playing Germany will suit us better because Ghana, who we would have played had we won the group, are good team and it would have been a tricky fixture.

As well as watching the football, I also had the chance to play while in Port Elizabeth.

A friend of mine is a member of the Official England Supporters Club and arranged for us to take part against a local township side in Port Elizabeth.

It was a great experience. We arrived at one of the local schools on a big coach, which was surrounded by hundreds of school kids who thought we were the actual England team!

We met some of the children and then went to this battered football pitch to play against members of a local football team. We drew 1-1, which was a good result.

While travelling up to Port Elizabeth through the Garden Route region, we stopped off at the world’s highest bungee jump at Bloukrans Bridge, which is 216m high.

Unfortunately it was fully booked, so we had to give it a miss, much to the delight of my mum, Elaine.

We did do a shark dive recently though, two days after the Algeria game, which is certainly an experience that I won’t forget in a hurry!

Five of you are fastened into a rickerty old cage, which is then lowered from a boat into the sea.

Meat is attached to a hook, which is then fastened to the cage, and you can see the sharks circling the cage.

They are around four metres in length and you have to hold onto the cage because they bash it with such force.

Seeing a shark up  close is a scary experience but also an awesome one.

Oliver Dean is documenting his journey to the World Cup regularly in the DET and we thank him for allowing us to re-print his diary columns here on RamZone!.... Keep an eye out for his next diary entry soon!

Photo: Action Images

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