The thrill is back in Irish football

The Aviva was a special place to be on Monday night. The atmosphere for the game against Germany was the best I’d experienced at the new ground but Monday topped even that, and fittingly so, because you’d have to say that the second leg against Bosnia was nothing less than the biggest home game in the history of Irish football.

Yes, we technically qualified in Dublin for Euro 2012 but everyone knows the 4-0 away win in the first leg of that play-off against Estonia was the result which really secured Ireland’s passage to Poland. Other than as a prolonged celebration, the second leg was virtually a non-event, certainly in terms of there being anything competitive at stake.

But whether for World Cup or European Championship qualification, Monday’s game was the first time Ireland have had to do it at home when the the pressure was really on. And for anyone with a love of our game, it was genuinely uplifting to see how everyone – management, players and supporters – rose to the challenge.