Updated at 21.25
LAST NIGHT, WE told you about the Irish punter Niamh Gilleece, who audaciously put €4 on Real Madrid beating Bayern Munich 4-0 in the Champions League.
A last-minute goal from Cristiano Ronaldo earned Irish student Gilleece a total of €800, as the unexpected result came through, and she quickly made waves on Twitter upon announcing the news.
So how did she decide to make such an ambitious bet in the first place?
“I was in college with a lad and we were thinking of going to Coppers that night,” she tells TheScore.ie. “We thought ‘we’ll go to the bookies and then decide if we win’.
“So we went to Paddy Power in Maynooth and they took out the Real Madrid and Bayern Munich slips. I took one and looked at it and it was 200/1 for them to win 4-0 and I said, sure ‘I’ll put €2 on it’ and my mate John said to put €4 on just in case.”
Most of Gilleece’s friends unsurprisingly doubted her wisdom in placing the bet, but three first-half Madrid goals suddenly made the improbable outcome look a distinct possibility
“I put on €4 and said: ‘Lads, if this does come through, Coppers is on me tonight.’ I was on the train home and thought we weren’t going to Coppers. I went home to watch the match and all the lads were saying to me: ‘Niamh, this has no hope of coming through’.
“We were watching the match and all of a sudden, Real Madrid scored the two goals after 20 minutes and I thought: ‘Oh my God.’ So I went on Twitter and said I’d buy everyone in Coppers a drink if it does come through.
“Then there was another [Madrid] goal and I got off Twitter for the second half and I couldn’t breathe basically. When Ronaldo scored the free-kick in the 90th minute, I just ran out to the balcony, I couldn’t believe it. I was so scared Bayern Munich would score in the last few seconds, but they didn’t. I couldn’t even look at the TV, but my friends said: ‘It’s over, the final whistle’s been blown,’ and I just screamed.”
She subsequently tweeted a pic of her betting betting slip, getting 2,128 retweets and 1,093 favourites as a result, as well as countless responses to her subsequent tweets.
“All these Spanish people were tweeting and I hadn’t a clue what was going on. It’s crazy! Nicky Byrne was talking to me on the radio this morning. I’m going to college now, I want to cash it in Maynooth, because I just want to see the face of the man who works there. He’s going to laugh at me.”
And the Dubliner’s newfound internet fame also enabled her to get into Dublin nightclub Coppers for free, as well as receiving a gold card from its owners.
“We went up to the door and the manager was standing there and I was like, you know that girl who won €800 on the match, and he said ‘yeah,’ and I was like, ‘that’s me,’ and so I showed him my phone and he said ‘oh my God,’ so he let me and five of my mates in free.
“I didn’t cash [my winnings] last night, so I just spent whatever money I had buying them drinks and stuff. No one in Coppers came up to me asking to buy them a drink, but I would’ve [bought them one].”
While Gilleece has no plans to take up betting seriously anytime soon, she is still more than willing to offer tips. And Liverpool fans will be pleased to know she has backed Everton to beat Manchester City 2-1 this weekend.
“I feel like if I start betting again, I’ll end up spending €800, so I might take this as a once-off. Although I was advising people on bets, saying Atletico Madrid are going to win 3-2 against Chelsea tonight, which is 55/1,” she laughs.
And how does she plan to spend the money that didn’t go towards last night’s Coppers fund?
“I’ll obviously have a bit of a session. I’m doing the mini-marathon in June, so I’m going to sponsor myself. But I don’t really know, I haven’t given it much thought. I’m still just excited that the bet came through.”
