REELING IN THE EUROS: Looking back on Ireland’s memorable match against the USSR at Euro ’88

It’s still one of the greatest goals ever scored by an Irish player.

Any chance of a Ronnie Whelan-style wonderstrike against the Italians next Wednesday? We can but dream…

Here, we look back at a classic from Ireland’s first ever major finals.

Relive a fascinating match where Ireland dominated, but were ultimately left frustrated. This being said, there’s still one abiding memory that football fans have from this meeting at Hanover.

The rocky road to Hanover: Ireland arrived at the their second game at Euro ’88 in high spirits following their opening day win against England, but the same can be said about a USSR side that beat the Dutch 1-0 thanks to a Vasily Rats goal.

Broadcaster Vere Wynne-Jones perfectly summed up the atmosphere on Morning Ireland with this line: “this morning, thousands of Irish hangovers are on their way to Hanover”.

It should be noted that this was an extremely talented USSR side, they ultimately reached the final of the tournament, but what followed was one of Ireland’s most impressive international performances.

COYBIG!: Here’s what the match ticket looked like.

Random fan story: The majority of those in attendance actually missed Ireland’s goal being scored because there was a bloody Mexican wave going around the ground that blocked the view.

The craic: Here’s a quote from The Irish Times “It’s no exaggeration to say that the Germans have been quite dazzled by the behaviour of the Irish supporters, who have other in their ability to drink an entire city dry, behaved with the decorum of a party heading to Knock”.

The build up: The players have openly talked about how they revolted against Jack Charlton’s ‘put ’em under pressure’ mantra during this game and it clearly worked because many fans still regard this as one of the best Ireland performances, despite the fact that it finished a draw.

How Tony Galvin wasn’t awarded a penalty for this blatant foul by their ‘keeper Rinat Dasaev remains a mystery. Despite creating some decent chances,  Ireland were pegged back after an Igor Belanov flick-on fell to the feet of Protasov who struck a low shot under Packie Bonner.

Did you know?: Tony Galvin actually has a degree in Russian and shocked their players by chatting to them during the pre-match ceremonies.

The starting XI: Packie Bonner, Chris Morris, Mick McCarthy, Kevin Moran, Chris Hughton, Ray Houghton, Kevin Sheedy, Ronnie Whelan, Tony Galvin, Frank Stapleton, John Aldridge. Substitutes – Tony Cascarino for Frank Stapleton (81) Irish Manager : Jack Charlton

The match: Aside form Ronnie Whelan’s glorious strike, Ray Houghton almost scored an absolute worldie after he beat three player but saw his shot saved by Soviet goalkeeper Rinat Dasaev. Many fans still consider this match to be Kevin Sheedy’s finest game for Ireland.

The memorable moment when: Ronnie Whelan did this. It’s still regarded as the greatest goal that was ever scored by an Irish international.

The reaction:“More miraculous recoveries like last night and the Soviet Union could well be introducing a policy of full conversion to Christianity” – Kevin Myers – The Irish Times

“Another performance of breathtaking courage and character” – Peter Byrne – The Independent.

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