Golden goals: Gary Mackay (1987)

As the tributes flooded in for Jack Charlton after the recent news of his death, his achievements as Republic of Ireland manager were rightly lauded. Prior to his appointment, Ireland's national team had never qualified for a major tournament. Under Charlton, that situation was about to change.

Charlton's reign of almost ten years saw him lead Ireland to the finals of Euro 88 and two World Cups, and narrowly miss out on qualification for two European Championships tournaments. Creating memories for supporters, boosting the national economy, and becoming a national hero in the process, Charlton squeezed in a lot during his tenure.

All of this seemed a pipe dream when Charlton was unveiled as manager at a feisty press conference in February 1986. It was widely believed that the race was a straight fight between Johnny Giles and Liam Tuohy, with Charlton a distant third as the FA of Ireland's 19-man executive committee met in Dublin. But Charlton sneaked home, before addressing nation's media.

Forced to discuss the nature of his appointment - "The circumstances of my selection are unimportant, they had nothing to do with me" - and comment on the fact that Ireland were now being managed by an Englishman, the Irish Times noted that the exchanges were heated and at some points "threatened to become physical."

"My pedigree shows that I know the business and I'll be perfectly happy to be judged on what I do in the job," Charlton argued. Yet the task ahead for the 50-year-old looked tough. Qualification for Euro 88 in a group featuring Belgium, Bulgaria, and Scotland would be difficult, these nations having played in the Mexico World Cup. With only the group winner progressing, there was very little room for error.

After a last gasp draw in Belgium and stalemate in Dublin against Scotland, Charlton's Ireland opened up the group by winning the return match at Hampden Park. Another draw with Belgium and two wins over Luxembourg continued the improvement, but a late defeat suffered in Bulgaria appeared to put a big dent in Irish hopes of reaching West Germany.

As Ireland prepared for their final group match at home to Bulgaria, qualification was still possible, but only if three things happened: Ireland needed to beat Bulgaria, Scotland had to take at least a point off Belgium later on the same day, and then Scotland had to win in Bulgaria. Not much to ask for.

Two out of three ain't bad. A 2-0 win over Bulgaria saw Ireland keep their part of the bargain, and when Scotland defeated Belgium by the same score, there was a glimmer of hope. Yet Bulgaria had not lost a qualification match in Sofia since 1982, Scotland's away record was poor, and injuries in the build-up would decimate Andy Roxburgh's plans.

"At their best, the Scots are capable of beating anybody but Bulgaria are a strong, competitive team who don't normally lose at home," Liam Brady said after Ireland's win over Bulgaria, a match that saw him pick up a costly red card. Brady's comment was telling; Scotland had a chance, yet realistically Ireland needed snookers.

It hardly helped Ireland's cause when Rangers trio Richard Gough, Ian Durrant and Ally McCoist pulled out of the squad with injuries. With Mo Johnston unavailable due to club commitments with Nantes, many Irish fans would have settled down in front of the live RTE coverage of the match at 3.30pm on November 11 more in hope than expectation.

If the Irish were holding out for a hero then the name of Gary Mackay would not have been entering their minds. The 23-year-old Hearts midfielder was only drafted into the squad on the Sunday before the match, after Aberdeen's Jim Bett picked up an injury against Morton. Mackay then picked up a slight thigh strain in training, but was passed fit before taking his place on the bench in Sofia.

The match was played in conditions that the Times had described as "a depressing porridge of mist and drizzle," and the quality throughout was lacking. Jim Leighton tipped over an effort from Hristo Stoichkov in the first half, but Alex McLeish and Gary Gillespie marshalled the Scottish defence superbly as Bulgaria seemingly became stuck between two stools.

 

 

Unsure whether to go for the win or the draw, Bulgaria were at least prolonging Irish hopes. Mick McCarthy later explained the Irish players had discussed that "...our best and possibly our only hope lay in the Scots ability to frustrate the Bulgarians and then strike on the break in the closing few minutes." The first part of the plan was going well, but could Scotland find the goal to bring a smile to Irish eyes?

The unlikely hero entered the fray at the start of the second half, a replacement for Paul McStay who was unable to continue in what appeared to be another blow to the Irish. Making his debut, Mackay was 41 minutes away from ensuring that he would never need to buy himself a drink in Ireland again.

With just four minutes left, Gordon Durie, also making his debut, managed to feed the ball inside from Scotland's right flank before being unceremoniously sent flying into the air. Fortunately, referee Helmut Kohl played the advantage, the ball finding Steve Nicol who then fed Mackay on the right corner of Bulgaria's box.

Letting the ball run across his body, Mackay unleashed a left-footed drive past Borislav Mikhailov (sans wig) that found the corner of the net to leave the crowd of 49,976 stunned. Jock Brown and Ian St John, commentating on Scottish television, yelled in delight as Mackay's effort hit the net. The excitement in the RTE studios and around Ireland understandably exceeded this.

After a late scare that saw Nasko Sirakov go close, the final whistle sounded, the boos in the Sofia Vassil Levski Stadium growing in volume, undoubtedly matching the cheers sounding around Ireland. 

Scotland's win completed the remarkable job that Charlton had started, not that the man himself had been following the action. Involved in a prior business arrangement in Birmingham, Charlton discovered the good news when assistant Maurice Setters contacted him. Shocked, Charlton noted that the achievement "gave him as much pleasure as anything I have enjoyed in football."

Prior to the match, Charlton had sent Roxburgh a telegram wishing his team good luck and offering them champagne as an incentive. "Instead of sending the Scots a case of champagne as I promised, I will now send them two!" he revealed. "Frankly, I didn't expect Scotland to win but all credit to them, they went and did the business."

What of the new Irish hero? "This has been the most incredible day of my life," Mackay admitted. "To win my first cap in a game of this importance was really something - to score the winning goal makes it an absolute dream." An ideal introduction to international football that left Mackay, Scotland and Ireland ecstatic.

Mackay never touched these heights again for Scotland. Playing in draws against Luxembourg, Saudi Arabia and Malta, by March 1988 his international career was over. But he made his mark in Bulgaria and Ireland. Bulgaria manager Hristo Mladenov called it "the blackest day of my career." Irish keeper Pat Bonner noted: "I think all the Irish players will get drunk tonight." All because of Gary Mackay. And an injury picked up by Bett at Cappielow Park.

"Scotland's victory over Bulgaria in Sofia yesterday won no prizes for beauty but to Irish eyes it was sweet indeed," the Guardian report stated. There may have been some doubting his appointment 18 months before, but as Charlton indicated, he would be judged on results. Jack's bandwagon was gaining momentum.

"Lest anybody forget this job is only half done," Charlton said after Scotland's win. "Qualifying is one thing but we must go to the finals determined to justify our presence in them." Ireland may have needed a helping foot from Mackay, but they would show Europe that they deserved their place in West Germany during the summer of 1988. 

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