Wow.

There are not many games where you would think after a penalty shootout, a red card and high drama that getting to the stadium was still the most intense experience but Recife's Arena Pernambuco can hold its head high on that count.

Where most host cities offer free transport to ticket holders on game day, Recife opts for a more com­plicated, money-making scheme. ­Kudos to the city government for their ­attempt to break even on their ­unwanted ­responsibility of being a host city but it doesn't really make you feel welcome. The ground is a good hour from town and only accessible by a public transport system that costs fans cash and requires them to sport a wristband in order to return on the same long-winded method of conveyance as which they came.

The train was slick, in fairness, but the 20-minute walk from the ensuing bus to the ground was stickier than a whole Panini album. This was made all the worse by the English fans that had decided to channel their love of Animal House into a makeshift toga party and ersatz Hellenism for the day. Prats, to a man.

The oddest part of this meander was that people were trying to give tickets away. Both Costa Rica and Greece were clearly not what the general public were willing to part with cash for and you could tell that the game was going to be unusual at best even before you caught sight of the stadium.

Security was as one has come to ­expect at this World Cup: irregular. Apples were confiscated, as were wicker dolls bought for daughters far away. The reasons remained unclear, even after close questioning, but minutes later the same dolls were collected from the unattended security spot and nobody batted an eyelid.

Inside, the ground was half empty but everyone was trying to cram as close to the pitch as possible. This meant that several people watched from the overlooking concourse while I had to fend off three different ­interlopers from my seat. It was essentially first come, first served but with the added bonus of every other seat ­being akin to sofa and ­housing two fans. Whoever designed the ­Arena Pernambuco clearly had a sense of humor.

As has become normal at this World Cup, the vast majority of the fans were local. Again, they thought nothing of making their view heard. The first whistles were heard within a minute, the first Brazil song within two and the first Mexican wave inside the first five minutes of play.

These locals were backing Costa Rica over Greece, so at least we all had that in common. Despite that, Greece were the better side for much of the game until Costa Rica scored against the run of play, much to the delight of the stadium or what was filled of it. Selfies and trips to the bar were of more interest than the game until Greece snatched an equalizer near the death of normal time. By then even the Brazilians were cheering one of the only things that happened all game.

Extra time brought more questions than answers. Would the children who had struggled through the game be invigorated by 30 more minutes? Could the local chap next to me drink any more beer? Would the bar get any more plastic cups?

Yes, yes and yes, as it happened. ­Extra time brought forth a new vigor in everyone in the stand. No goals were forthcoming but they were willed by all at both ends. By the end of it, though, no one in the ground could really move and penalties seemed the fairest thing.

They were not so fair to the Greeks, nor was the journey back into town.