NORTHERN IRELAND v SWITZERLAND

PAT JENNINGS has seen it all before.

Underdogs Northern Ireland needing a result against a bang in-form side to qualify for the World Cup.

Oh, and on top of that, their goalkeeper is playing reserve-team football.

This challenge confronting Michael O’neill’s side against Switzerland in the play-offs is similar to the one Jennings and his team-mates faced against England back in November 1985.

Then, Billy Bingham’s men needed a point at Wembley against Bobby Robson’s unbeaten Three Lions to qualify for Mexico.

Jennings, aged 40 and winding down his club career in Tottenham’s reserves, produced one of the finest displays of his record 119 caps to help earn them a goalless draw.

He twice extended his Inspector Gadget-like right arm to make world-class saves from Glenn Hoddle and then Kerry

Dixon at the death.

“One half of the pitch was frozen solid,” said Jennings

(right). “In the first half, I made a save high up on my right-hand side from

Glenn Hoddle, tipping his shot over.

“Then Kerry, from a header. Alan Mcdonald was behind me on the line and was ready to push it over with his hand because he thought I wasn’t going to get to it. Thankfully, I did.

“To go to Wembley, where we’d won only once in my 22 years in the team, and get a draw was just an incredible night.

“That goalless draw was part of a run of six clean sheets – and I did it playing reserve football.

“I never had six clean sheets on the trot when I was 29 or 30, never mind at 40. That’s how crazy football is.

“I’m probably a good example for Michael Mcgovern because he’s playing reserve football at Norwich.”

Romania missed out and suspected a stitch-up between the Northern

Irish and the English.

This prompted the patriotic Mcdonald (below), who tragically died in 2012 aged just 48, to blurt out live on the BBC:

“We bloody earned that point and anyone who says it’s a fix should come and see me!”

More diplomatically,

Jennings said: “The

English lads were playing for their places in the World Cup squad, so there was no way they were going to take it easy.”

The 72-year-old legend will be at Windsor Park in the new lounge named in his honour for tomorrow’s