Despite the playing surface, freezing temperatures and Manchester United against Real Madrid on TV, the turnout was impressive considering how far some of these players had travelled.

BBC: Bangladeshi Londoners bid for football glory

Beneath the freezing surface of Jarfjord, east of Kirkenes, the red king crab stakes a strong claim to be Arctic Norway's most unusual inhabitant.

BBC: The perfect trip: Norway

But McNamara's men made light of the freezing temperatures and hard surface to deliver an emphatic display.

BBC: Bradford Bulls 41-22 Castleford Tigers

It has a freezing point well below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or zero Celsius and therefore is able to prevent the precipitation that falls into it from freezing on the plane's surface.

CNN: Airplane deicing: The how and why

"In wintertime, the cliff surface gets so cold that its temperature falls below the freezing point of CO2, which at low pressure goes directly to solid, " said Dr Musselwhite.

BBC: Doubts over water on Mars

The new 3G surface at the north Belfast venue meant this was the only quarter-final to survive the freezing weather.

BBC: Cliftonville 0-2 Glentoran