Dates with destiny on the horizon

REMEMBER, remember the 11th and 15th of November.

The European Championship play-off dates against Estonia next month happen to be red-letter ones in this nation’s football history.

In fact, Ireland weren’t even playing on Wednesday, November 11, 1987, but that was the blue moon night when a Gary Mackay goal for Scotland against Bulgaria in Sofia ensured that, against all the odds and for the first time ever, Ireland qualified for the European Championship finals.

Cue Euro ’88, revenge for Skibbereen, Ray Houghton’s header, Ronnie Whelan’s volley and Jack Charlton’s crowning as Ireland’s most popular Englishman. Just over one year later, on Wednesday, November 15, 1989, Irish football’s arrival on the international stage was complete, as a John Aldridge brace gave Charlton’s team a 0-2 win over Malta in Valetta, allowing Ireland to celebrate qualification, for the first time in the country’s history, for the finals of the World Cup.

Ireland can also make history in the upcoming play-offs, as a check on our successful European Championship and World Cup qualification record confirms. For Euro ’88, passage was secured in Sofia; for Italia 90, it was Valetta; for USA ’94 it was Belfast; and for Japan/Korea ’02 it was Tehran.

In other words, with next month’s first leg against Estonia taking place in Tallin on Friday November 1, the second leg in the Aviva on Tuesday, November 15 presents Ireland with the opportunity, for the first time ever, to achieve qualification for one of the two major finals on home soil.