The rocky road awards

Liam Mackey reflects on the memorable moments, on and off the pitch, from Ireland’s Euro 2012 qualifying campaign

MOST VALUABLE GOAL

All goals are valuable, of course, except those of the consolation variety. But some are more valuable than others – even if they don’t appear so at the time. So take a bow Keith Fahey, who came off the bench in the Republican Stadium in Yerevan on September 3, 2010 to drill home the goal which gave Ireland a 1-0 victory against Armenia in the first game of the 2012 qualifying campaign. The significance of Fahey’s intervention would become apparent much later on when the Armenians, getting better by the game, emerged as dark horse contenders for a qualifying place. Indeed, by the end of the campaign, Fahey’s goal meant Ireland had been the only Group B visitors to leave Yerevan with a win.