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Brady header ends Ireland’s long wait
LILLE: Robbie Brady admitted to being in dreamland after his late winner over Italy took the Republic of Ireland into the knockout stage of Euro 2016 on Wednesday.
LILLE: Robbie Brady admitted to being in dreamland after his late winner over Italy took the Republic of Ireland into the knockout stage of Euro 2016 on Wednesday.
“It’s what dreams are made of. We have done the job for everyone who came to see us and all the Irish fans around the world,” said Brady, whose 85th-minute goal in Lille secured a 1-0 win that took Ireland through as one of the best third-place sides.
“It is a proud night for myself and fantastic for the team.”
Brady’s goal came from a Wes Hoolahan cross just moments after Hoolahan had missed a glorious chance to put Ireland ahead, shooting straight at Salvatore Sirigu.
“I think the chance Wes had before, it was a massive moment but the ball got caught under his feet a bit.
“But he showed his character to put in a fantastic ball. He put it right on my head and I’d have done well to miss.
“It was our last chance to go and push ourselves through. We rode our luck a couple of times, with them hitting the post (through Lorenzo Insigne), but we stuck at it and got the result we deserved in the end.”
The win set Ireland up for a rematch with the French, seven years on from the infamous Thierry Henry handball that knocked the Irish out in a World Cup qualifying play-off.
And Brady said the triumph, that followed a 1-0 win over world champions Germany in qualifying, should now stand Ireland in good stead.
“We have managed to beat some of the best teams in the world. We know (France) are a top-class team and they have got some unbelievable players but if we can stick together and click we can hurt anybody,” said the Norwich City player.
For Ireland it was a first win in a competitive match against Italy since the 1994 World Cup and Brady’s heroics mean he — at the age of just 24 — has secured himself legendary status among Irish fans.
Ireland’s win in front of a sea of green in the Lille stands came after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sweden in their opening game and then suffered a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to Belgium.
