Foot.ie decides - Ireland's best goal!

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Originally Posted by geysir

I'll go Whelan

Importance of game doesn't matter, the pressure in both games was almost equal. McLaughlin did very well to control & strike but the defending was poor in allowing him plenty of time to do it and there was a 1m wide passage through the phalanx players to direct his shot.
Whelan's goal - the move was deliberate and every part of it was inch perfect.

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The importance of the game matters if the voter decides it matters. :)

In reality, it didn't make a whole pile of difference whether we won or lost that Italian game. Our playoff spot was secure and it was highly unlikely we'd overtake Italy for top spot. We were twelve minutes from certain elimination when McLoughlin equalised, in arguably the most hostile atmosphere and one of the most high stakes match a Republic of Ireland team had been involved in. Not sure how the pressure could have been almost equal.

McLoughlin. For the times that was in It !

Whelan. Farther out against a better keeper and a more organised defence.

Whelan for me. One of the more outstanding goals in this generation of Ireland players. McLaughlin goal was special, and the occasion lifts it significantly, but cannot overlook Whelan scoring a worldie against one of the top goalkeepers ever in his prime.

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Originally Posted by DeLorean

The importance of the game matters if the voter decides it matters. :)

In reality, it didn't make a whole pile of difference whether we won or lost that Italian game. Our playoff spot was secure and it was highly unlikely we'd overtake Italy for top spot. We were twelve minutes from certain elimination when McLoughlin equalised, in arguably the most hostile atmosphere and one of the most high stakes match a Republic of Ireland team had been involved in. Not sure how the pressure could have been almost equal.

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Imo, in this example the importance of game doesn't matter in relation to the quality of the goals as the pressure in both games was almost equal, just how much was Croke Park rocking in the opening minutes of that game, do you not remember? The difference in importance of the result of course was huge, no question about that.
But I don't let that petty emotion about that fact cloud my judgement :) about the rarely executed, all in one motion perfect pass and strike as apposed to NI's questionable defending and a passage way almost bigger than the parting of the red sea. Ask Ealing Green I'm sure he would agree with me for once.

A late rally for Whelan is all in vain; Alan McLoughlin A v Northern Ireland, 1993 takes it on a 9-4 scoreline and is our first semi-finalist.

Whelan gets a chance at revenge next, although a different Whelan. Ronnie Whelan N v USSR, 1988 is first up today.

Group - Winner Group C ahead of James McClean A v Wales 2017, Kevin Sheedy N v England 1990, Keith Andrews A v Italy 2011, Robbie Keane N v Saudi Arabia 2002, and Kevin O'Callaghan H v Malta 1983.
Last 32 - won 12-0 v Kevin Doyle H v Andorra 2010
Last 16 - won 9-2 v Matt Holland N v Cameroon 2002

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3l5zUw8vGM

And also potential revenge on the other side of this draw - after Ronnie Whelan knocked out Matt Holland in the last round, he's up against Matt Holland again in this round. This time it's Matt Holland A v Portugal, 2000.

Group - Winner Group M ahead of Robbie Keane H v Yugoslavia 1999, Niall Quinn A v England 1991, John Aldridge N v Mexico 1994 and Mark Lawrenson A v Scotland 1987
Last 32 - won 8-3 v Robbie Keane A v France 2009
Last 16 - won 10-1 v Darron Gibson H v Wales 2011

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_9f5-6Bvc0

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Originally Posted by geysir

Imo, in this example the importance of game doesn't matter in relation to the quality of the goals as the pressure in both games was almost equal, just how much was Croke Park rocking in the opening minutes of that game, do you not remember? The difference in importance of the result of course was huge, no question about that.
But I don't let that petty emotion about that fact cloud my judgement :) about the rarely executed, all in one motion perfect pass and strike as apposed to NI's questionable defending and a passage way almost bigger than the parting of the red sea. Ask Ealing Green I'm sure he would agree with me for once.

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I remember the atmosphere alright, it belied the dead rubber it essentially was. :) Being spurred on my your own support is generally seen as beneficial though, incomparable to what we faced at Windsor. McLoughlin's equaliser was only four minutes after we were rocked by Jimmy Quinn's outrageous goal too of course, in a game of few chances it felt like curtains.

As for the quality of the goals themselves, I wouldn't argue that point too much, personal preference of course. I'm not sure NI's organisation levels could be questioned too much on the night though, and their commitment to spoil was off the charts given the motivation they had. We basically had to maximise the one half chance we got, and McLoughlin did that clinically. Italy were caught napping in a way I suspect they might not have been had the stakes been higher.

I'll go Matt Holland this time. A better goal than his Cameroon effort imo, and I just find it difficult to put the shinner aspect of Ronnie's to one side.

Whelan over Holland. "Not even the best goalkeeper in the world could keep that one out".

Shinned or not, acrobatic volleys from the edge of the box into the top corner don't come along very often at all. Bonus marks for being willing to even try it. I expect this goal to win the whole thing.

Whelan, all the best goals are scored with the left boot/shin

Whelan for me. Holland's was good but Whelan's was another level above it.

Holland for me.

Ronnie Whelan, no doubts, I don't care if it was his shin or not, an awful lot of overheads end up coming off the shin, it doesn't take away from the acrobatics and improvisation needed to pull it off. Holland's is a good goal, but those type of strikes are ten a penny really.

r whelan

Has to be Whelan. Shin or no, the acrobatic nature of it is spectacular, and points to a confidence in the player and the side that has become increasingly rare. Holland's is a great goal, though the defending is rather lax from Portugal, you can even sort of see him start when he realises the space he has been given in front of him. From that distance I would always fault a keeper for not saving a shot too.

Whelan all day for me.

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Originally Posted by passinginterest

Ronnie Whelan, no doubts, I don't care if it was his shin or not, an awful lot of overheads end up coming off the shin, it doesn't take away from the acrobatics and improvisation needed to pull it off. Holland's is a good goal, but those type of strikes are ten a penny really.

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It's a strong case. I was happy to fly solo on Keane v McAteer but I feel a bit silly here - I'll change my vote to Whelan please PStu. ;)
(if only UEFA could discard the behind the goal angle of Whelan's though I'd be a lot happier).

Done!

Ronnie racing into a huge lead here. It is hard to see who'll stop him alright.

I watched back the USSR game there at the weekend actually - never realised that the reason we had a throw in the first place was because of an appalling clearance from a Soviet defender. It was so bad it fooled the cameraman, who thought it was a hoof up to half-way, and then you see the ball drop with backspin just on the edge of shot, becaus he'd sliced it under no pressure at all.

You can see it at 37:55 here, with original, slightly dismayed, Russian commentary.

Whelan.
Ridiculous goal.
Throw-in, sideways jump, goal, forward jump to celebrate

Holland: Filthy strike. Couldn't be any sweeter if you dipped it in a pint of nutella.

Whelan: Shinner.

Holland it is.

Another 9-2 win in the second quarter-final so - this time to Ronnie Whelan N v USSR 1988.

The third quarter should be a lot tighter going on previous comments though - so vote carefully!

In the red corner, we have Aiden McGeady A v Georgia 2014

Group - winner Group B ahead of Robbie Keane A v Holland 2004, Steve Staunton H v USSR 1990, Ray Houghton N v England 1988, Andy Townsend H v Northern Ireland 1993, and Robbie Keane N v Nigeria 2009
Last 32 - won 11-0 v Matt Holland A v Estonia 2001
Last 16 - won 11-0 v Andy Reid H v Cyprus 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHjf0nWN0_0

And in the blue corner, it's Kevin Doyle A v Slovakia 2007. Only one can go through...

Group - Winner Group A ahead of Glenn Whelan H v Italy 2009, Liam Miller H v Sweden 2006, Robbie Brady A v Bosnia 2015, John O'Shea A v Germany 2014, and Niall Quinn A v Wales 1991
Last 32 - won 9-2 v Robbie Keane A v Holland, 2004
Last 16 - won 11-0 v Ian Harte H v Israel, 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vVu9Q2EgHc

McGeady.


Never seen an Irish player score a goal like it. Incredible skill

Now that's a very tough one to call. A little more finesse from McGeady and raw power from Doyle. I'm torn, my yellow belly loyalties might be clouding things too. I think I have to go McGeady, the turn just nicks it with the addition of the precision finish.

McGeady, don't think any other player in the squad could have scored that goal.

I'll go with Doyle, I just find it a bit more impressive. Wrong foot, not a huge pullback, but that ball just powers into the net. I can't even fault the keeper it goes so fast past him. McGeady's is great all the same, but think Doyle's is a little bit better.

This one could be the final.

McGeady beats Doyle 9-8 on penalties.

McGeady for much the same reason as Tets. The commentators often say "it'll take a moment of genius or a mistake to win this game", but we rarely get the moment of genius, and Ireland very, very rarely get it. :)

But yes, Doyle's deserved at least top four finish.

Really tough one.

I'm going to go for McGeady. My reasoning is that if I tried to do what Doyle did 100 times I reckon I might score the same goal he did once or twice in the 100 goes. But I could be there for a year and I wouldn't be able to do what McGeady did, a really brilliant piece of individual skill.

McGeady - sublime fortune.

Changed: McGeady over Doyle.

Hard to find anything between them, but I'll go for Doyle as it was his weaker foot.

EDIT: Changed my mind. McGeady it is, just can't ignore the perfect touches that preceded the strike itself.

mcgeady

McGeady - that touch is softer than a peck on your granny's cheek.

Doyle for me.

The McGeady goal was special, something we all wanted to see more from a player who probably never really scaled the heights he should have, but Doyles was just incredible off his weaker left foot, from that distance, with that power, out of absolutely nothing, it's world class in every sense of the word.

Doyle for Me; Cracker.

No good guys - ends 9-3 to McGeady. That was way more decisive than I thought it would be, albeit that it seems to be a consensus that McGeady's was just better rather than an easy/clear decision.

So one last quarter-final remains. A clash of styles - a well-worked goal against the ultimate route one effort. The first effort is Shane Long v Germany, 2015

Group - Winner Group L, ahead of Ashley Grimes H v Spain 1982, Shane Long v England 2013, Andy Keogh H v Serbia 2008, and Ronnie Whelan A v Luxembourg 1987
Last 32 - won 10-1 v Robbie Keane A v Holland, 2000
Last 16 - won 7-4 v Ray Houghton N v Italy, 1994

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJup10szLr0

And the final goal left - Jason McAteer A v Holland, 2000. The one that won the World Cup for us.

Group - Winner Group J ahead of Liam Lawrence H v South Africa 2009, Michael Robinson H v Holland 1982, Gary Breen N v Saudi Arabia 2002, and Niall Quinn A v Macedonia 1999
Last 32 - won 7-3 v Mark Kennedy H v Yugoslavia 1999
Last 16 - won 10-1 v Robbie Keane H v Israel 2005

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVV-f9LoSLw&t=2m28s
Time is 2:28; time-stamped link is here.

Breaking my heart with this choice. I just love Long's goal so much: as I said before it's the confidence of it, to the take the ball down, power forward and then get such a sweet strike past the keeper, all against arguably the best team in the world at the time. It was the ultimate "**** you" to the conservative, play-for-a-draw, "what do you expect, we're ****" mediocrity that defined much of the previous years.

But that being said, have to go with McAteer. A double back-heel that tears apart the Dutch, and then a brilliant finish, just can't be denied. Like with Long's, it showcases a confidence in the side that could have seen them go far if they'd been able to avoid certain, later, catastrophes.

McAteer. Easy enough choice even though I voted against it in the last round.