The setting was Stuttgart, the date, 12th June 1988, and the Republic of Ireland were taking on England in the European Championships, in what was a historic first major tournament for Eire.

Jack Charlton’s side were rank outsiders against an England side which contained the likes of Gary Lineker, John Barnes, Glenn Hoddle and Bryan Robson.

Ireland though were certainly not pushovers and had fostered a fantastic team spirit under the leadership of Chartlon. The Eire back line had no less than three Celtic players tasked with keeping out an English side who had scored 19 goals in qualifying not to mention having World Cup golden boot winner Gary Lineker leading the line.

The three Celts representing their nation were Goalkeeper Pat Bonner, Right back Chris Morris and centre back Mick McCarthy and all were brimming with confidence after a fine centenary double winning season in the Hoops.

It didn’t go to script for England as Glasgow born Celtic supporter Ray Houghton headed the Republic into a sixth minute lead. England desperately tried to get an equaliser, but couldn’t get past a determined Irish back line, and the Irish had our own Pat Bonner to thank as he pulled off an impressive instinctive save from Lineker in the closing stages.

Granted, Lineker missed a few chances during the game, one’s he would usually convert, but you need to ride your luck sometimes to get a result. In the end it was a job well done for the Republic as they held on for a historic 1-0 victory with a great number of fans wearing the Hoops at the match.

The Irish partied into the night to celebrate a monumental win and deservedly so. It was a historic win for the Irish and our Bhoys at the back played a big part in a victory that’s still fondly remembered by the Irish supporters to this very day.

JustAnOrdinaryBhoy – follow on Twitter @ordinarybhoy

HUGE SAVINGS IN THE CELTIC STAR’S SUMMER SALE! 

The Celtic Star’s Summer Promotion has been so successful, with hundreds of books at great prices being posted to Celtic fans all over the world, that we’ve decided to continue with the sale until the end of July. We’ve reduced all six books currently available from their usual retail price of £20 and prices are as low as £6 (see below).

All books are high quality hardback, with some signed by the author. And it’s also worth noting that you only pay postage on one book, so it’s free for the second, third and so on. ORDER HERE or click on The Celtic Star image above…this is how it feels to be Celtic!