High drama in Stuttgart as Irish football comes of age

FROM THE ARCHIVES 1988 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS - Ireland 1 England 0:The Republic of Ireland's sensational victory over England in Stuttgart at the European Championship led to an outpouring of national joy. On June 13th, 1988, Peter Byrne's match report summed up the day's memorable events

IT WAS at once the longest day and the greatest day; a day of deep passion and towering courage. It was the day the Republic of Ireland took its place among the aristocracy of international football and beat England for the first time in a competitive game in front of 53,000 incredulous supporters in Stuttgart yesterday afternoon.

Ray Houghton's goal after only six minutes, exploding like a giant fire-cracker in the bow-shaped Neckarstadion lit the way to Ireland's finest win and from that point, the men in green were men inspired.

Ireland are now unbeaten in their last 11 games; Paddy Bonner has not conceded a goal in 730 minutes of international competition and in those statistics is to be found the stuff of folklore.

Even as the 15,000 Irish supporters made their way into the city centre for a raucous party that was to last well into the night, Bobby Robson was attempting to put together the pieces of an adventure gone terribly wrong for England. For all the individual talent available to him, the climb back is now vertical for Robson.

It was, unquestionably, one of the great occasions of Irish sport, a triumph to be woven into the tapestry created by Delany, McGuigan, Roche and others.

Yet, not even these personalities played on our emotions quite as much as Charlton's team as they settled in for a marvellous last -ditch stand that was to hold much of the nation enthralled.

At times, the margin of survival was perilously thin but, for all the pressure, the line was unbending and as we held our collective breath and willed away the minutes which seemed to last for hours, everyone of us shared the agony and the ecstasy of it all.

Never, I suspect, has the blast of a referee's whistle made sweeter music than when the East German referee, Siegfried Kirchen, signalled that it was all over and suddenly, joyously the tension and the trauma was gone. England had been beaten by the Irish for the first time since 1949 and another legend was locked into history.

Tense it most certainly was, but, for all the frenetic energy, it was not a classic in artistry. Yet, in football, it is the top line which counts and long after the frailties of the afternoon have been forgotten, that 1-0 scoreline will stand as the testimony to a performance we were all privileged to witness.

A tactical plan conceived by Jack Charlton and Maurice Setters had been executed to near perfection and, for much of a warm humid afternoon, the Irish rode their luck well.

England were the more inventive team for the last 45 minutes and Bobby Robson will find some difficulty in making sense of the errors of his front runners, Gary Lineker and Peter Beardsley.

Lineker thrice failed in situations in a way which belied his extravagant evaluation and, on those occasions on which he got his efforts on target he discovered that Bonner was quite unbeatable.

Before the game, Gerry Peyton said the man who keeps him out of the Irish team would establish himself as one of Europe's better goalkeepers in this championship and Bonner's display yesterday matched that ambitious rating. "Somebody up there liked me today," said Bonner of his finest game.

In a heart-stopping moment in the 76th minute Lineker's pace and positional sense took him into the sort of situation on which his predatory instincts feed. Leaving the Irish defence for dead, he found himself with the ball at the edge of the six yards area but the goalkeeper's nerve held and spreading himself in the textbook fashion, he managed to smother the shot at the expense of a corner.

Even that hair-raising escape did not quite compare, however, with his save in the second minute of injury-time at a stage when even the most optimistic of our number suspected that lightning might strike twice and that England, reliving 1957, would find a new John Atyeo.

Bonner came to collect a free kick by Glenn Hoddle on the left; realised he was not going to make it and started to retreat. Lineker got his head to the cross but the goalkeeper managed to arch his back, touch the ball around the post and we breathed again.

The other man called to the post-match press conference was Ray Houghton. Nobody has identified Ireland's renaissance more powerfully than the tiny Liverpool midfielder, and he made the point tellingly yet again here.

In the first half, in particular, he covered a vast amount of ground, dropping back to assist Chris Morris in the challenge of putting John Barnes out of the game; and yet, finding the time and the running power to spearhead Ireland's most dangerous attacks.

It was appropriate that he should put his name on the winning goal. It was his first score in 16 appearances for Ireland and only the second time in his career that he has scored with a header.

Even the last-minute inclusion of Mark Wright could not disguise the weaknesses in the losers' defence and with the preliminary skirmishing still only beginning to take shape, they cost England the match. Kenny Sansom unforgivably sliced a cross from Tony Galvin into the air; John Aldridge outjumped Adams to knock it on to Houghton and with the cover split, Houghton sent a looping header into the corner of the net.

Barnes had been identified as England's danger man and it is a measure of the containment job which Houghton, Morris and Paul McGrath in turn implemented that the Liverpool man never counted. McGrath, lathered in perspiration restricted the influence of Bryan Robson so effectively that is was only in the last half hour that the England captain began to count. By that stage, Frank Stapleton, Ireland captain had departed the scene and his going coincided with England's most dangerous spell of the game.

Stapleton, covering every blade of grass on the pitch, has never been braver and it was his willingness to drop back into midfield which ensured the success of Charlton's blueprint.

John Aldridge, deployed as a lone attacker for much of the second half, showed strength and character as he held up the ball until assistance arrived.

Ronnie Whelan illustrated his big-match temperament yet again and in the 61st minute, in a rare Irish counter-attack, he came within inches of producing a second Irish goal when his 20-yard shot struck on the volley just caught the top of the crossbar. The only other time Ireland threatened after the interval was in the 70th minute when Niall Quinn, Stapleton's replacement, arrived marginally too late to make contact with Houghton's cross in front of goal.

Chris Waddle caused some troublesome moments for Chris Hughton but the Tottenham full back contributed nobly to the victory. But it was the heart of the Irish defence which took the brunt of the English pressure and here Mick McCarthy and Kevin Moran were quite magnificent.

McCarthy, meeting everything with a willing head and firm boot, typified the Irish display on the day and Moran was invincible. No less than Bonner and Houghton, and, on occasions, Tony Galvin, their names will be imprinted forever, on a great day for the Irish.

ENGLAND:Shilton (Derby); Stevens (Everton). Wright (Derby), Adams (Arsenal) Sansom (Arsenal), Webb (Notts Forest), Robson (Manchester Utd), Waddle (Tottenham), Beardsley (Liverpool), Lineker (Barcelona), Barnes (Liverpool). Subs: Hoddle (Monaco), 60 mins for Webb, Hateley (Monaco) 83 mins for Beardsley.

REPUBLIC OF IRELAND:Bonner (Celtic), Morris (Celtic), McCarthy (Celtic), Moran (Manchester Utd), Hughton (Tottenham), Houghton (Liverpool), McGrath (Manchester Utd), Whelan (Liverpool), Galvin (Sheffield Wed), Aldridge (Liverpool), Stapleton (Derby). Subs: K Sheedy (Everton) 77 mins for Galvin, N Quinn (Arsenal) 63 mins for Stapleton.