Greatest Irish goal ever

Fr Tod Umptious

Mark Lawernsons winner v Scotland away in 1987.

Set us up well in that group, Gary McCays v Bulgaria would have meant nothing if it wasn't for Lawernsons earlier in the competition.

SEPT 23 1989

briany wrote: »

Let's all sit in the assembly hall while they wheel in the TV trolley.

My father used to collect me early from school to go and watch the best team Ireland ever had

It's a debt I can never repay

Grandeeod

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

Schoolboy section ticket for a fiver

I remember when it was 2 quid. Havelock Square end.:D

Grandeeod

Lots of different generations in here, so its to be expected that opinions will be very different. This may seem a bit too insightful for some, but for me it's 2 particular goals from 1986.

It was Jack Charltons first competitive match, away to Belgium who had just returned from the '86 WC. A few years previously under Eoin Hand, we had got done over by Belgium and just missed qualifying for the '82 WC. But on this particular night as I watched it with my Dad in a Dublin Pub, those hopeless nights of constantly getting crap results away to decent opposition, ended. A Stapleton header and Liam Brady peno, got us a draw. That night Irish international football changed forever. We became credible and of course went on to deliver many many memorable nights home and away.

Sorry it's not too glamorous, but at the time they were the best goals ever, when you consider what had gone before and what was yet to come. I distinctly remember Ray Treacy's co-commentary. It rambled between expectant despondency to a barely audible "YES!" when Ireland were awarded the penalty to equalize. Magical stuff.

Triboro

Shane Long v Germany in qualifiers!

Elmer Blooker

Stephen Ireland putting the mighty San Marino to the sword with a 94th minute winner. A brilliant strike ..... from 2 yards!
Go to 2.40.

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

Triboro

A beauty,hope Stephen was watching in last night.

briany

Elmer Blooker wrote: »

Stephen Ireland putting the mighty San Marino to the sword with a 94th minute winner. A brilliant strike ..... from 2 yards!
Go to 2.40.

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

It was the goal that saved Steve Staunton from being literally pilloried the next day. As it was they just sent up poor old Bobby Robson to take public ire on Joe Duffy. Dark times in Irish football.

Bret Hart

Robbie Keane v France in that game. Slow build up and then Duff and Kilbane with a quick one two,Duff cuts it across from the byline and Keane sidefoots it into the net. The game itself is as good as I can ever remember Ireland playing.

Captain Havoc

From memory and those clips, there's a lot to go on. I'm gonna go with Shane Long against Germany though, maybe not technically our best but it made me jump up and down like I was child again. The best night I've had at the Aviva/ Lansdowne road, even if the game was only OK, the clock went backwards and my heart nearly gave up on me.

AllGunsBlazing

Niall Quinn's equaliser vs England at Wembley in 1991 is as deft a finish as you're likely to see and executed from a difficult angle. That was as complete a performance I've ever from any Irish team. We beat them into the goals but just couldn't find what would have been a deserved winner.

SEPT 23 1989

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

Niall Quinn's equaliser vs England at Wembley in 1991 is as deft a finish as you're likely to see and executed from a difficult angle. That was as complete a performance I've ever from any Irish team. We beat them into the goals but just couldn't find what would have been a deserved winner.

I watched that on a big screen in the RDS

great goal

Arghus

Always had a soft spot for John Aldridge V Mexico. He was just so pissed off, that he had score out of pure frustration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_0ZEh6LPnA

cj maxx

Ronnie whelans , for me , is the best ever. Yeah replays showed it was a shin but the joy i had replicating it
And a liverpool player as well

spintheglobe

Well there is one more after this week!

fyfe79

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

for the crowd reaction alone

For some reason that was probably the most important for me too, as I remember crying when Platt opened the scoring. Only time that ever happened to me. I was only 11 but even at that age the idea of losing to England at home was just too much to take.

mickmackey1

Jimmy Dunne's rasper v Poland, 1938

Grandeeod

mickmackey1 wrote: »

Jimmy Dunne's rasper v Poland, 1938

Cameraman must of missed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltD8hOatBMw

mickmackey1

Haha classic

KingBrian2

nice_guy80

AllGunsBlazing wrote: »

Niall Quinn's equaliser vs England at Wembley in 1991 is as deft a finish as you're likely to see and executed from a difficult angle. That was as complete a performance I've ever from any Irish team. We beat them into the goals but just couldn't find what would have been a deserved winner.

watched that

wonderfullife

A lot of great suggestions.

For me, and i'm biased, it's Bradys goal.

I was in Block H on the bottom tier for the goal.

The goal itself we've all seen a dozen times now.

What might not come across on the telly, was the stifling heat inside the stadium.

I saw 3 people faint, 1 in the jacks, and 2 on the bottom tier.

It was touching 29 degrees that day, and with the roof closed, it was the preverbial sauna.

Taking all that into account, the fact we needed the goal, the fact it was in the 85th minute and the boys surely were knackered, the fact it went from Randolph to Brady and ended with Brady.... the fact Wes had the pure balls to demand the ball off McGeady after missing a sitter and pick his head up to even attempt the cross.... the fact Robbie not once took his eye off the ball and was willing to be clattered by their goalie....

When you throw all of that into the mix, i believe it was the best goal we've ever scored.

And i'm living in hope we can somehow top that on Sunday.

Cake Man

KingBrian2 wrote: »

Was this goal from a friendly v Holland? I don't remember it at all and it being in June 2004, I'm guessing it was an end of season friendly as we didn't qualify for euro 04.
Only games v Holland I recall in qualifying is for 02 WC.

Grandeeod

Cake Man wrote: »

Was this goal from a friendly v Holland? I don't remember it at all and it being in June 2004, I'm guessing it was an end of season friendly as we didn't qualify for euro 04.
Only games v Holland I recall in qualifying is for 02 WC.

It was a friendly.

ebbsy

Alan Mcloughlin vs North in 1993 or Whelan vs Russia in 1988 for me.

cdeb

Both the goals against Holland in 2000 are well up there, for the quality build-up as much as anything else. Amazing to watch back now and see just how good we were, and how well we could play. Lovely backheels in both goals - three in total actually.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbAnulQ0Jiw

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

Mec27

Wait Robbie Keane 25-30 yarder in a friendly vs Netherlands in like 2005? Matt Holland vs Portugal in the 2002 campaign, both thunderbolts.

Oat23

Mec27 wrote: »

Wait Robbie Keane 25-30 yarder in a friendly vs Netherlands in like 2005? Matt Holland vs Portugal in the 2002 campaign, both thunderbolts.

2005. :eek:

Remember watching that game on Eurosport the day after. Great strike alright.

briany

That Dutch game was in 2004 and, yes, it was a great strike. I remember the pundits asking why the team didn't play like that in Basel, and I agree. For some reason, under Brian Kerr's reign, Ireland had a fantastic win-loss record in friendlies but utterly sh*t the bed when it came to games of consequence.

SHOVELLER

SEPT 23 1989 wrote: »

for the crowd reaction alone

Must have been hard for you

SHOVELLER

testaccount123 wrote: »

We have a winner!

Ray against Italy in 94
Robbie in Ibaraki in 02

My favourite Irish goals as I was at there for all three.

Quality:D

Morrison J

Taking importance out of it I honestly think this might be our best goal.

Snickers Man

PeterTheEighth wrote: »

That's just not right. the keeper was hugely at fault.

I'm going to disagree with you here. A ball like that played in by Wes is very hard to defend against because the keeper has to decide quickly whether to come for it or stand his ground and try to save the header. There are many examples of a ball like that, played from deep into the path of an onrushing striker making the goalkeeper look like a chump.

The great cricketer and commentator Geoff Boycott talks about the "corridor of uncertainty" in his sport. It's the area just outside of off stump which seam bowlers should aim to place the ball consistently because it forces the batsman to make a choice at speed: whether to leave the ball, whether to play a defensive stroke or whether to try and hit it. The better the ball, the greater the uncertainty and the more pressure on the opposition.

Wes's ball was right into the footballing equivalent of the "corridor of uncertainty". Yes, the keeper made an error but it was a forced error. He really didn't have a choice. All down to good attacking play from Ireland.

fyfe79

Snickers Man wrote: »

Wes's ball was right into the footballing equivalent of the "corridor of uncertainty". Yes, the keeper made an error but it was a forced error. He really didn't have a choice. All down to good attacking play from Ireland.

Agreed. Didn't Deschamps only the other day say that that kind of delivery onto an onrushing header is the hardest thing to defend against in football?

cdeb

I don't know. For a defender, sure, that ball was almost impossible to defend - and Bonucci kind of didn't even try; he stopped tracking back, possibly because he didn't even see Brady.

But that's not the case for Sirigu - he has a lot less ground to make up than Brady because the ball is coming towards him. He should be in a better position to take command of the situation and even punch clear. Instead, he came half-way and stopped - which is generally a criminal mistake for a keeper - and then effectively got out of the way of the header.

It was a sublime ball from Hoolahan, a great run from Brady, but I think it's still fair to say Sirigu should have done better.

pickarooney

duffman13 wrote: »

Was gonna be my shout, I loved that goal, I was 7 for 94 world Cup and vaguely remember the tournament. 2002 was incredible.

If talking about important qualifier goals I have to at least mentioning McAteer, one of my favourite goals aswell. https://youtu.be/o3FO8U2aZMk

The closed captioning on that video is a thing of wonder.