Time for number 40 on the countdown and the first soccer match at Croker.
Not everybody at JOE Towers could immediately recall who Ireland’s first soccer opponents at GAA Headquarters were.
Maybe this one qualifies as more significant than memorable.
For the record it was Wales in the European 2008 Qualifiers and we won 1-0 courtesy of a Stephen Ireland goal.
Ireland, Stephen, not Ireland the team, actually got on the scoresheet a few times in Croker as many people complained the atmosphere in the stadium was disappointing for much of Ireland’s tenancy there.
Soccer’s opening match at the stadium had its thunder stolen too by the fact Ireland’s memorable rugby matches against France and England had already taken place in the previous month.
Nevertheless it was still good to see the end of Rule 42 and a new era of maturity and self-confidence for the GAA.
Fun fact: Soccer matches had been played at Croker in the early part of the twentieth century before the GAA came into possession of the ground then known as Jones’s Road.
Today marks 40 days to go until the start of Euro 2012, so stick with us every day as we present another memorable Irish soccer moment.
