On tonight on Setanta at 8pm, according to their listings. Lasts for two hours, so must be the whole match. Definitely one for the video!
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On tonight on Setanta at 8pm, according to their listings. Lasts for two hours, so must be the whole match. Definitely one for the video!
Great performance that night.
As Jack Charlton said of the goal - "Goals that you really enjoy come as a shock".
The Aldridge volley over the bar, the most blatant peno never given when Tony Galvin was pole axed by Dasayev...............should have won it.
Given that it was the second game of football I ever watched (first coming two or three days previously), I don't really remember much about it apart from the goals and the penalty, which I'd seen numerous times since. We played them off the park completely! I think they had about one shot in the entire game, which went in, while Dassayev made a couple of superb stops...
Here's hoping for the other two games soon to finish my video collection!
Christ!! Did I say Galvin was pole axed - that was more like a WWF move.
I remember Kevin Moran saying that the team effectively disobeyed orders and started playing football in the 2nd half. The USSR thought we'd drop back and knock it long - so we got the ball down, played a bit and turned up the pressure.
Imagine Mcgrath was injured that night and Lawrenson and Brady were missing from the first 11.
And Jim Beglin.
Hadn't Lawrenson retired from international footie before the Euros?Quote:
Originally Posted by Wolfie
Lawrenson and Beglin had both retired at that stage due to injuries. Brady was injured and would have been suspended anyway. McGrath missed the game too.
Superb performance arguably our best ever. Even if we'd won we were not through but we certainly deserved to win that night.
Just shows how strong our squad was then compared to now. Also how good they were and how much characther there was in the team also. There were so many talkers in that team and now we have very few.
Watched the game again last night. Class performance. If only we could get the same level of commitment now.
Agreed there were plenty of leaders in that team.Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
A couple of years earlier was probably the nadir (before Nicosia) of my time supporting Ireland. We'd lost 4-1 at home to Denmark. Jimmy Magee stated that we'd never qualify for a major finals in his lifetime and frankly I didn't think I'd see any in mine either and I was still in college then.
Jack Charlton made a massive difference. He transformed the way we played which may have been harder on the eye. however we were very effective and played with a lot more self belief particularly away from home.
We got lucky with Gary Mackay's goal in Sofia but it has often been forgotten that we lost in Sofia to a late penalty given for a foul that was at least a yard outside the area and had a perfectly good goal disallowed at 1-1 too.
Chris Morris and Tony Galvin wouldn't get in to our current team. Duff. Keane and Given would also have got in to that side. What we really lack in the current side is in central midfield partnership and another decent centre half (i.e. 3 players short of a reasonable side).Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilMcD
Euro 88: won one we should have lost, lost one we should have drawn and drew one we should have won.
Was at the game. Bloody wave almost spoilt the view of the Whelan goal. On to Gelsenkirchen and heart break - still hurts :(
We ended up with more points than Bulgaria - end of story. If the Sofia match had been at the start of the campaign and Scotland won, there would be none of this "got lucky" theory. As far as I am concerned, we deserved to get to Germany for our only ever Euro campaign because we had more points than anyone else. If Bulgaria, aren't good enough to beat Scotland, that's down to Bulgarian short comings and not luck for us. Otherwise, ANYONE who qualifies for a campaign is lucky because the opposition have dropped points against other teams.Quote:
Originally Posted by gspain
Please re-read my post instead of selectively quoting from it.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
We definitely deserved to go to Euro88.
That's a particularly valid point in the context of how few we have at the moment.Quote:
Originally Posted by gspain
Even watching the re-run last night there were various occasions where Whelan, Stapleton, McCarthy, Moran, Houghton could be seen cajoling and encouraging all around them for further and sustained effort. Always great to see.
The ability within that side was often under-rated, particularly when you consider that Aldridge, Whelan and Houghton were part of a very strong Liverpool side throughout the late 80's / early 90's.
Ireland's performances in Euro 88 finals had been threatening to happen - Belgium away, Scotland away and Bulgaria at home during the qualifying campaign offered indications of what was to follow.
The friendlies during the first half of '88 - all wins against Romania, Yugoslavia and Poland (if the memory serves me correctly!!) helped to continue the momentum also.
i've been following the team since early 1970s and I can say that the Soviet Union game in Hanover was one of the greatest ever displays by an Ireland team. Should have won by several goals - only Dasyaev and the ref prevented it.
Just finished reading Paul McGrath's abook - an incredible read. He himself was injured for that game, and Kevin Sheedy came in for him. Sheedy was a marvellous and gifted player - had all of the footballing qualities of David Beckham, but without the pop star image. Unfortunately, Jack didn't fancy him, and dropped him for the next game against Holland, when McGrath was fit again. Sheedy totally controlled the game that evening from midfield. In fairness to McGrath, he says in his book that the Soviet Union game was probably their greatest, in terms of pure passing skill and something approaching total football.
However, Jack quickly put a stop to all that.
Sheedy was one of Charlton's favourites. He always stuck him on the left of midfield.
:rolleyes: Correct me if I am wrong but I just have a vague recollection of Sheedy scoring for Ireland against England in Italia 90 and Jack may have been the manager at the time. But I am sure that your rewriting of history makes a better read.Quote:
Originally Posted by BradyIsMyHero
The local Icelandic tv station had a contract to show 11 out of the 12 group games from the '88 Euros and the one game excluded was the Soviet game. (Sounds like a line from a Keith O'Neill autobiog.)
I've never seen the game so I don't know how well we could have played when Jack once took life easy for 90 minutes.
If anyone can put it on a torrent site or whatever, otherwise I'll carry on with my state of disbelief.
I was at the match and had a great view of the peno which was never given. A cast iron peno at that. Aldridge kicked over when he should have headed the ball. Tony Galvin was outstanding that night. The whole team was. We destroyed the USSR for half an hour in the second half. They had just beaten Holland 1-0 and we made them look second rate for most of the game. And didn't Sheedy come on early in the game against Holland? McGrath at full back.
Pretty sure that he is talking to Jack putting an end to Ireland's attempts at 'total footbal'.Quote:
Originally Posted by BradyIsMyHero
But I am sure your inability to read his post helps your post make sense.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan