Ronnie Whelans wonder goal......or did it just roll off his shin??

This coming June sees Ireland make a return to the European Football championships for the first time since the 1988 tournament in West Germany. 

Who could forget the game against The USSR, an Irish team that was expected to come out and hit the long ball up front all day came out and played the Soviets off the park and took the lead from a Ronnie Whelan wonder strike.  Ronnies goal would have been goal of the tournament had it not been for the genius of Marco Van Basten in the final itself.

Tony Galvin should have been awarded a penalty when he was 'decapitated', according to Jack Charlton anyway, by the keeper but the referee turned a blind eye.  This allowed The Soviets back in and they duly took their chance with a long ball over the top that caught us unaware as Oleh Protasov put the ball past Pat Bonner to level  the score at one goal apiece.  The performance was lauded as one of our best in years at the time, I think even Eamon Dunphy managed a few kind words of his own afterwards.

Well who could have imagined that after two games in our group back in '88 we had beaten England and taken a point after our draw with The USSR to leave us on the brink of the semi finals.  Will this years tournament be as kind to us???