Number 22 on the list is a famous goal that owed much to the persistence of Big Niall Quinn and more to some horrendous goalkeeping from Hans van Breukelen
Something that is often lost in the retelling of Ireland’s glorious World Cup campaign at Italia ’90 is that we actually managed to progress to the quarter-finals without winning a single match in regulation time and scoring only two goals along the way.
Of course, until old Toto Schillachi put us to the sword we didn’t lose any matches either, instead fighting our way through to the last eight thanks to four consecutive draws. It wouldn’t work nowadays, but this was an age where a win was worth only two points and conservatism was richly rewarded.
And – apart from perhaps the worst game of football ever seen against Egypt in Palermo – what glorious draws they were.
There was the memorable draw against England when Kevin Sheedy scored and Gary Lineker chose to empty his bowels on the pitch and the penalty shoot-out success over a Romania side including Gheorge Hagi.
Sandwiched in between those games was a stalemate with a Dutch side that had won the Euros two years earlier and is probably the second best team to ever have emerged from the Netherlands.
Van Basten, Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit were all in the Dutch team that lined out against Ireland on that night in Palermo and it was Gullit that put his men in front with a brilliantly-worked effort after only ten minutes.
It took a little luck for Ireland to get back into the game and indeed, we should be thankful that the game was played prior to the introduction of the backpass rule.
Why? Because these days there is no way in hell that anyone would even attempt the volleyed backpass that Berry van Aerle’s sent in the direction of Hans van Breukelen, even on a team as technically proficient as the Dutch.
Not that Van Breukelen should be absolved of blame, meanwhile, for he still should have gathered the ball with ease instead of letting it squirm out of his grasp and into the path of Niall Quinn, who did the necessary from three yards out.
That made it 1-1 on the night and with England beating Egypt in the other group game, both sides knew that they, along with England, would be safely through if the score stayed as it was.
Captains Mick McCarthy and Ruud Gullit met in the middle of the pitch to make sure that the message was spread throughout both teams and thus followed one of the most farcical periods of football ever seen in World Cup history as both sides passed the ball unchallenged across the back four until the time ran out.
Reflecting on it now, Holland probably wished they had done more to win the game because with both sides finishing level on points and goal difference, lots were drawn to decide who would finish as official runners-up in Group F. Ireland won and got to play Romania in the last 16; Holland went on to play West Germany at the same stage and went out to the eventual winners. Somebody no doubt told Van Basten and company that that’s the way the cookie crumbles.
As far as we’re aware, the song ‘The Mighty Quinn’ was not written with Big Niall in mind, but it might as well as have been on that night in Palermo.
The Mighty Quinn, indeed.
Today marks 22 days to go until the start of Euro 2012, so stick with us every day as we present another memorable Irish soccer moment.
