David Kelly, the man who gave the Republic of Ireland a 1-0 lead in the infamous international friendly against England in 1995, has recalled his mixed emotions of the Lansdowne Road encounter ahead of Sunday's friendly against Roy Hodgson’s current England side.
Ireland manager Jack Charlton selected Kelly to start in attack alongside Niall Quinn, a move that paid dividends when the Wolves player scored after 21 minutes. However, the match will be best remembered for the rioting which ensued and the forced the abandonment.
“It’s a lovely memory in one way and obviously so disappointing in another,” Kelly told RTÉ Sport.
“There’s been an awful lot of games I’ve been involved in ever since and I’ve got fond memories of part of the evening.
“I was always really chuffed for Jack to put me in the squad.
“I always felt it was a huge honour for myself to be involved in the international set-up, and when Jack told me on the morning that I was in and that I was playing up front with Quinny, I was absolutely chuffed to bits.
“I was so pleased. Big Quinny and myself, we had a good record when we played together.”
However, the rioting which followed Kelly’s goal casts a long shadow over Kelly’s memories of the day.
“You would never ever imagine anything as horrific as that could happen in any sporting arena,” he said. “It was just so disappointing for everybody involved.
“The disappointing thing was that it transpired that it was premeditated, whether that was going to be caused by a spark in the game - a tackle maybe or a bit of dissent - and sadly for everybody when we scored the goal that was the catalyst for the idiots to start.
“The goal went in and obviously we all wheeled off to the far side of the ground into the corner and we were all celebrating and obviously delighted to have gone in front. You sort of start coming back to the halfway line and you can see in the West Stand, on the top tier, that there were lots of things going off.
“In fairness to the referee, he was excellent. He got hold of everything very quickly and we as players were ushered off the field as quickly as possible.
“We quickly realised when we were in the dressing rooms that the game was in serious doubt because the feeling was that this wasn’t just an ordinary little disturbance.
“It was a sad day for sport.”
While few people have fond recollections of that day, Kelly still clings on to some personal positives, adding: “I still count it as a full cap, I still count it as a goal and I’m extremely proud to have scored it.
“Unfortunately the record books don’t state that.”
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