He'd have happily settled for a 1-0 win, he insisted, but 4-0? Blimey!, writes MARY HANNIGAN
HIS FRIDAY evening in Tallinn might have begun in disappointment when, two hours before kick-off, he learnt he would not be in the starting line-up, Giovanni Trapattoni opting to partner Jon Walters with Robbie Keane in attack. But, by the end of the game, during which he came on to win his ninth cap, Simon Cox was, he said, “in la-la land”.
He’d have happily settled for a 1-0 win, he insisted, but 4-0? ‘Blimey’, said his expression as he shook his head and beamed.
“After the first sending off I thought we could go on and win maybe one or two nil. Then when the second one was gone we all wanted to just absolutely finish it off there.
“I think 4-0 probably does it, but if we’d got five or six I don’t think they would have even bothered getting on the plane.”
Walters’ contribution on the night, said Cox, “justified” the manager’s selection, he had no complaints.
“I kind of thought that it was going to be Jon anyway because he’s a different player to me, he’s a little bit more like Kevin (Doyle) than I am.
“We play different teams, different centrehalves, different midfielder players – you could be the best player on the field one week and then be sitting on the bench the next. That’s the way football is, that’s the way Trap does it, but he believes in everybody he has in the squad.”
Friday was just the latest highlight in what has been a whirlwind of a year for the 24-year-old, eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland through his Galway-born grandmother.
He was first called up to the squad for May’s Nations Cup, scoring against Northern Ireland on his debut, and getting his second international goal in June’s victory over Italy in Belgium.
“A year ago I wasn’t even thought about at international level, I was only interested in trying to get in the West Brom team at that stage – and I still haven’t done that,” he laughed. “But I’ve loved every minute I’ve come away with Ireland. We’re a tight unit, everybody’s got to know each other really well. When we have dinner there isn’t anybody who misses out. We all like each other.
“And Trap’s been brilliant for me. I’d love him to stay on for two more years – and he should be rewarded for what he’s done. In the time I’ve been here he hasn’t been beaten.”
How’s he been since Friday?
“A lot more chilled out. He has a great deal of pressure on him at the minute, but he’s been nice and relaxed.
“At training the next day he got us all together and went, ‘listen lads, first class, absolutely brilliant result, great attitude from you, well done’.”
Ironically, though, it was the arrival at West Brom during the summer of one of his international team-mates, Shane Long, that has restricted Cox’s appearances at club level, and could yet jeopardise his place in the Irish squad.
Cox has made just six appearances for West Brom this season, two of them in the League Cup. But for now, at least, he’s not panicking, hopeful he’ll get his chance.
“Football’s a strange thing, you could be nowhere at club level one minute, and then you could be starting and, in a matter of seconds, be the best thing since sliced bread. I believe in myself and my ability, I believe I’m good enough to play, I’m not one to get worked up about anything.”
He’ll re-focus on club matters tomorrow, but not until then.
“We just have to approach the game as if it’s 0-0 again. Of course that’s not easy when we tanked them a little bit only last Friday, but that’s how we have to do it. Hopefully it’ll be a carnival atmosphere, people will come out to enjoy themselves, and that will be helped by us putting on a good performance.
“We’re going to go out and do it right, get the win that sends everybody home happy.”
And puts them in la-la land.
A WORD OF WARNING: They thought it was all over, but . . .
World Cup quarter-final 1966
Portugal 5 North Korea 3
Having beaten Italy in the group stage the Koreans raced into a 3-0 lead against the Portuguese. Eusebio then took command, scoring four times in 30 minutes to scupper the fairytale.
Uefa Cup third round 1985
Real Madrid v Borussia Mönchengladbach 1-5 and 4-0
Real were holders when they played Borussia in a Uefa Cup third round tie in 1985. That counted for little in the away leg, but half the deficit was recovered by half-time in the second leg. Goals from Jorge Valdano and Carlos Santillana in the closing stages took Real to a most unlikely win, which the fans consider the greatest in their proud European history.
Champions League quarter-final 2004
Deportiva la Coruna
v AC Milan 1-4 and 4-0
Reigning champions AC Milan carried a three-goal cushion into the second leg at the Riazor but the team of Maldini, Pirlo, Shevchenko etc was thoroughly beaten on the night.
Champions League final 2005
Liverpool 3 AC Milan 3
(Liverpool won 3-2 on penalties)
Probably the most famous comeback in the history of European football. Milan, playing much the better football, had a 3-0 lead in the 2005 final in Istanbul until the 54th minute, but Liverpool, led by an inspired Steven Gerrard, fought back to take the game to penalties. Jerzy Dudek's unorthodox goalkeeping did the rest.
