There have been worse home international debuts. As Ian Stewart collected a layoff from Billy Hamilton, the 21-year-old Northern Ireland winger cut inside as West German defenders retreated. Stewart drew back his right foot.
Despite their World Cup heroics, not many could see Billy Bingham's Northern Ireland beating the mighty West Germany as the two nations met at Windsor Park for a Euro 84 qualifier in November 1982. Northern Ireland had only won one match in their last ten - admittedly that one in ten was the memorable victory over Spain in Valencia - yet Jupp Derwall's West Germany looked an intimidating prospect.
Skipper Martin O'Neill admitted as much. "Standing in the tunnel before the game was a bit off-putting,” he revealed. "The Germans positively wreaked of liniment. Their bodies glistened. I thought they must have muscles in places I've never heard of." Reigning European champions and runners-up at the recent World Cup, the names in the West German line-up left you open-mouthed.
Harald Schumacher, Uli Stielike, Lothar Matthaus, Pierre Littbarski, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Klaus Allofs and Bernd Schuster lined up in the tunnel next to Bingham's players, five of Northern Ireland's starters plying their trade in Division Two. Yet reputations counted for little. Bingham's underdogs loved nothing more than punching above their weight and bloodying the nose of another giant.
"But when we got out there and the grease wore off, they were just as human as you or I really," O'Neill said, as the fantasy became reality. Bingham would get his tactics spot-on, deploying wingers Stewart and Noel Brotherston to form a 4-4-2 formation when out of possession but fluidly changing to a 4-3-3 or 4-2-4 when attacking. The West Germans simply had no answer.
Northern Ireland's 1-0 win was no smash and grab raid. Defender John O'Neill would strike a post and Mal Donaghy blazed over a glorious chance before the decisive moment. Goalkeeper Jim Platt - keeping the legendary Pat Jennings out of the team - was rarely tested. "We couldn't cope with the extreme fighting spirit of the Irish," Derwall stated. "Their total commitment won the match."
The path to glory for the hero of the evening had hardly been smooth. Rejected by Everton, Stewart was unemployed for ten months, and turned to playing the guitar to earn some money. Fortunately, QPR handed Stewart an opportunity and he made his debut for the club in October 1980. Even though he had only played a handful of matches for QPR, Bingham handed him his international debut in March 1982.
The 4-0 defeat in Paris was a baptism of fire, and Stewart would not make the squad for the World Cup finals in Spain. In fact, he paid at the gate to watch Northern Ireland's last home match before their memorable tournament in Spain. But Stewart would become a key part of Bingham's plans as the 1984 European Championship qualifiers commenced.
A 2-0 defeat in Austria was a poor start to the campaign, although Stewart's performance in his second international was "the only light in the darkness", according to Bingham. Playing in place of the injured Norman Whiteside, Stewart impressed, although he was expected to drop back to the bench for the next qualifier against West Germany.
But a broken ankle suffered by Gerry Armstrong opened the door for Stewart to make his first appearance at Windsor Park - he had previously been a ball boy at the ground - before a training ground slip threatened to crush Stewart's dream.
"Northern Ireland's luck at escaping injuries over the weekend lasted just a few seconds into their training session when Ian Stewart, the QPR striker, was virtually ruled out of their tie with the World Cup runners-up West Germany," Charles Burgess wrote in the Guardian. "It looks bad," Stewart said. He was now facing a race against time.
Prior to the match, the squad had celebrated their success at the World Cup in an open-top bus parade through the streets of Belfast, plus a reception at Stormont. A first chance for the fans to show their appreciation since Spain, there was a jubilant feeling during the parade. The party atmosphere would continue through the week.
To Stewart's relief, he was able to pass a late fitness test on his twisted left knee, and after Northern Ireland's positive start, his golden goal arrived. Jimmy Nicholl, earning his 50th cap, played a diagonal pass to Burnley's Hamilton, who took the ball down well on the edge of the German box. Laying off a pass to Stewart on Northern Ireland's left, at first there seemed little danger.
Hamilton's pass had actually sent Stewart wider than he had hoped, but getting the ball back on to his right foot, Stewart faced up against full back Manny Kaltz. Dropping his shoulder just enough to create some space, Stewart cut inside and fired towards Schumacher's left hand post.
It was far from a clean strike, the ball dipping and bouncing before the German keeper. But the pace and accuracy of Stewart's effort was all that was required to see the ball nestle into the left hand corner of the net. Kaltz must have been having flashbacks to John Robertson's winner in the 1980 European Cup final.
Cue chaos inside a throbbing Windsor Park. "Ian Stewart has done the trick for Northern Ireland," commentator Mike Nesbitt cried, as the goal scorer ran away in celebration. "And isn't that just champion," Nesbitt added. On an "exhilarating rain-swept evening", to quote the Guardian's Robert Armstrong, Stewart would prove the match winner.
"That's the sort of goal you usually only dream about," Stewart declared. "I couldn't believe it when my shot struck the net. It's the first goal I've scored in big-time football." A decent way to open your account. Celebrating his goal and the win until 4 the next morning, it's little wonder that Stewart described Wednesday November 17, 1982 as "the greatest day of my life so far".
Stewart "drove a low shot into the corner of the net from 20 yards to create another episode in Irish footballing history," Armstrong wrote, with Bingham putting the victory alongside the win in Valencia. The Mail's Adam Coates labelled Stewart's goal as "a marvel of initiative and skill". Qualification hopes were reignited.
Sadly the team would fall agonisingly short. An even more astonishing victory in West Germany - Stewart would brilliantly set up Whiteside for the winner - raised hopes. But a West German winner ten minutes from time in their final match against Albania saw them qualify for France ahead of Northern Ireland on goal difference.
Stewart did play in the 1986 World Cup finals, yet his goal in Belfast and that jinking run in Hamburg were arguably his career highlights. What memories he created, playing such a huge part in writing two unforgettable moments into the history of the Northern Ireland national team. Just champion.
No comments:
Post a Comment