The worst moment following Ireland

[pineapple stu]

I think 86 was their first world cup but I'm not 100% sure. Need to check the records if I get time.
Definitely was. Remember it from my Italia 90 sticker album! :o Denmark were included, of course, even though they didn't qualify! Think Romania pipped them at the death!

How off topic is this thread gone now, by the way! :p

[Cowboy]

Think I remember that, it made me worse...
sorry, we ended up getting blind drunk on hooker hill, gary breen turned up later

[Eire06]

sorry, we ended up getting blind drunk on hooker hill, gary breen turned up later

You all just looked so sad and pityful (no insult intended).. I went home couldn't stay out any longer..

[lopez]

Yeah forgot about that one, we had a decent team out that day tooAnother good thing about that day (apart from my legover with the quare one from Denmark) was that we got rid of that eejit Eoin Hand. Man, he was one useless - and miserable - b*stard.

[Cowboy]

You all just looked so sad and pityful (no insult intended).. I went home couldn't stay out any longer..

No insult taken, it was the way we felt . ( I was the one in the tricolour shirt) I have not worn it at a game since

[Cowboy]

Disagree, thought he was just really unlucky apart from that game. Dodgy ref in Belgium etc


Another good thing about that day (apart from my legover with the quare one from Denmark) was that we got rid of that eejit Eoin Hand. Man, he was one useless - and miserable - b*stard.

[brine3]

If Eoin Hand was miserable then what was Charlton...

[Kerry Blue]

For me this was the worst moment. Conceeding that late goal in the thunder storm that night robbed us of a point which would have eventually seen us qualify for the World Cup for the first time. As it turned out we finished level on points with France and they went through on goal difference, and eventually came fourth. My mind was drawn back to this match when Israel scored their late goal last Saturday night week, and I hope déja vu doesn't happen in this campaign.
BTW, I totally disagree with you lopez. Hand was just unlucky. I remember another dodgy goal being scored by Bulgaria (in Sofia in '79, I think). He put a good team together, the core of which formed a large part of Charlton's team in 86-88. Jack had the luck (Gary McKay's goal!), Eoin didn't. The success Hand very nearly had in '82 has been overshadowed by the Charlton years.

[brine3]

For me the worst moment was Goran Straveski's thumping header in the 91st minute. I live in Holland and it would have been great if Ireland had qualified for Euro 2000. Twenty seconds from full time... so close, yet so far. The worst thin about it was that the same ****e happened in Yugoslavia and Croatia and that Macedonia had exactly the same 'goal' disallowed two minutes earlier yet we still didn't cop on.

I knew with our abysmal away record we wouldn't win in the play-offs, so I wasn't expecting us to beat Turkey anyway, so that wasn't as much of a disappointment.

[OwlsFan]

Jack had the luck (Gary McKay's goal!), Eoin didn't. The success Hand very nearly had in '82 has been overshadowed by the Charlton years.

Jack's team finished top of the group with more points than anyone else in the Euro 88 qualification. If the Bulgaria vs Scotland game had been the first match in the group it would have been forgotten with no talk of luck. Bulgaria lost to Scotland at home - they therefore finished with less points than us. No luck involved there. We were the best team in that group. Incidentally, it's the only time we ever topped a group.

I was in Belgium on that miserable night for Eoin Hand. The trend continues. We don't do away wins and concede late goals. The picture of Eoin and Terry Conroy, with their heads in their hands, still remains with me to this day.

[soylent green]

I was in Belgium on that miserable night for Eoin Hand. The trend continues. We don't do away wins and concede late goals. The picture of Eoin and Terry Conroy, with their heads in their hands, still remains with me to this day.

RTE used that image on one of their recent trailers with the shocked bench after the goal. Lots of facial hair and furry Ireland green tracksuits.

[lopez]

...BTW, I totally disagree with you lopez. Hand was just unlucky. I remember another dodgy goal being scored by Bulgaria (in Sofia in '79, I think). He put a good team together, the core of which formed a large part of Charlton's team in 86-88. Jack had the luck (Gary McKay's goal!), Eoin didn't. The success Hand very nearly had in '82 has been overshadowed by the Charlton years.I've had this argument before so I don't want to go over it again as it's taking it off thread. Hand was very, VERY, unlucky in 1982. Charlton was very, VERY, lucky in 1987. However it has always been my opinion, born out by how the team's performance got steadily worse over the following four years that rather than Charlton inherited a good side from Hand, Hand got a good side from Giles (Kelly was manager for just one game). Hand to me was out of his depth. A young inexperienced LoI manager who got the job because Kelly resigned and Mulligan had messed up his chance by having thrown a cake at an FAI official a few years ago on a coach.

However, my animosity to Hand is clouded. I met him in once, in Jaffa while the Irish team were training in 1984, and I found him to be the most f*cking rudest c*nt I've ever met in football either before or since. :mad: