Any victory will do to turn Russia dream into reality

ONE of the loneliest jobs in the world is that of the penalty kicker cast with carrying the hopes of a country in the dying embers of a game in which the last spark of a dream may be snuffed out.

One thinks back to Italia ’90: “There were about 20,000 brilliant Irish supporters behind the goal. They were so still and the eruption of green afterwards when the ball hit the net was absolutely amazing. It’s a fantastic memory.”

The glow of this recollection still warmed the heart of David O’Leary decades after he sent that famous shot to the goalkeeper’s left; and the rest – as they say – is a matter of record.

The last time so much was riding on an encounter between hordes of Danes and the Irish was in 1014, when poor Brian Boru had the legs taken from under him, and there wasn’t even a yellow card. Tonight the battle ground moves from the northside to the heart of Dublin 4. History of a different kind is in the making.

A place in the World Cup would indeed be special. No pressure, lads. How we get there is immaterial. We have done well to get so far. And yet we hope for more.

According to Phil Woosnam, the rules of soccer are very simple, basically they come down to this: “If it moves, kick it. If it doesn’t move, kick it until it does.”

Some call it the beautiful game, but beauty – as they say – is in the eye of the beholder, and most of us would be more than happy to win ugly for a glimpse of Russia.