It Was Twenty Years Ago Today

by Shane Murphy

(first published in the June 2010 Mervue United match programme)

It’s twenty years today since the most famous match in Irish football. The day when Packie Bonner and Dave O’Leary secured their places in the hearts of every Irish fan. I think it says something about the mentality of our supporters that while other countries are never allowed to forget (or forgive) those who have missed penalties, the average Irishman will struggle to name the unsuccessful takers against Spain in 2002, but everybody knows the story of Ireland versus Romania on the 25th of June, 1990.

After years of near misses, we were finally in our first World Cup. All of Ireland had Italia ’90 on their minds. “Put ‘em Under Pressure” was in the middle of its thirteen week run at number one in the charts. Had Charlie Haughey announced that we were going to war, it’s doubtful if it would have made the newspapers at all! Ireland went into the tournament on a thirteen game unbeaten run and three draws got us into the second round. Having finished perfectly level with Holland in Group F, our opponents were to be decided by drawing lots. We got Romania, the Dutch got eventual-champions West Germany. Romania had impressed in the first round especially when beating the Soviet Union 2-0 in their opening match. They went down to two Roger Milla goals against Cameroon, but a draw with holders Argentina saw them progress.

The Romanians, all mullets and moustaches, played with great panache and Western clubs were salivating over stylish footballers such as Popescu, Lacatus and Raducioiu. The brutal dictator Ceausescu had been deposed and executed at Christmas and the fall of communism meant that players could finally move abroad. Of course, the pick of the bunch by far was the 5’9″ midfielder Gheorghe Hagi, known as the Maradona of the Carpathians, who signed for Real Madrid that summer. Much of the squad played for Steaua Bucharest (European Cup winners in 1986 and runners-up in ’89) and Ireland went into the match as underdogs. The setting was the giant orange shoebox of Stadio Luigi Ferraris – home of Serie A sides Genoa and Sampdoria. Ireland lined up: Bonner, Morris, McCarthy, Moran, Staunton, Houghton, McGrath, Townsend, Sheedy, Aldridge and Quinn. Most people’s memories are of a turgid, chance-less affair, but for the first twenty minutes, it looked as though we might be overwhelmed by Romania’s attacking power. Hagi seemed capable of magic with every touch, but he was well-marshalled by McGrath amongst others. In truth, the next 100 minutes of boredom were something of a relief and when the Brazilian ref’s final whistle blew, it was penalties.

I wasn’t too hopeful of Bonner’s chances. He had left all nine kicks past him as Celtic lost to Aberdeen in a sudden death shoot-out in the previous month’s cup final. Aldridge, our best penalty-taker, had gone off injured in the first half. Jack famously left it to the players to decide who would take them. One by one the spotkicks hit the net… Hagi… Sheedy… Lupu… Houghton… Rotariu… Townsend… Lupescu. Cascarino kicked the ground, but our prayers got the ball over the line. Timofte, an extra time substitute, was next. No run-up, low to Bonner’s right….the most famous save in Irish history!! Up stepped David O’Leary. He was another extra time sub having replaced Steve Staunton for his only 26 minutes of World Cup football. The centre half had never scored in his thirteen years as an Irish international. How many times has he kicked a ball in his life? 722 senior appearances for Arsenal, 68 caps for Ireland and always remembered for one kick. Maybe it was the sage advice from Kevin Sheedy: “Don’t miss it!”. Just to add to the tension, O’Leary had at least ten attempts to place the ball on the spot. Fingers and toes crossed. “The nation holds its breath”. Sidefoot to the keeper’s left. Lung dived the wrong way. What many describe as the happiest moment in the country’s history. The entire squad jumped on top of the new hero. I dived across the sitting-room and clattered my knee off the fireplace. Pandemonium all over the country.

As O’Leary said, “I shudder to think what it would have been like if I had missed”. Who would have taken the next one? Quinn? McGrath? That night we watched Italy beat Uruguay for the right to meet us in the quarter final and the next morning, my friends and I practised our penos by the boating lake in Tramore. I’m sure Shay Given and Robbie Keane did too. Some people claim that match kickstarted the Celtic Tiger. Most fans will tell you that it was one of the best days of their lives. Certainly it was the most momentous Monday teatime in Irish history.