Irish international football arguably changed when, circa 5.10pm Irish time on a mundane Wednesday evening in mid-November 1987, Gary McKay scored for Scotland in Sofia. The goal was probably more celebrated here than in Scotland, and the time since has been a rollercoaster of emotions for us, usually positive, with the odd negative thrown in. On the field, the team got stronger and gained invaluable experience at the finals and later tournaments, off the field the FAI got increased revenue streams and capacity home crowds. What they did with that money is maybe a debate for a later time, but the fans got wonderful trips to finals and other exotic locations, while home games led to schools and workplaces closing early in anticipation of another Ireland win in front of a full house.
But if McKay hadn't scored, Bulgaria would have qualified for the finals at our expense, so what direction would Irish football have taken in that eventuality? After the other near misses of 78 and 82, would crowds have remained at 15,000 for the next campaign? Would lights have been installed at Lansdowne? Would Lansdowne ever be rebuilt? Would football still suffer from an inferiority complex compared to other sports here? Would we attract players to play for a team who had never made a finals, or would we end up like the North? Would Charlton and his long ball game have been dispensed with after the Euro'88 qualifiers, as suggested by Eoin Hand years later? After all, the fine line at the time between Hand and Charlton was, McKay was playing for Jack.
Debate.
