IT’S THE FIRST game of the World Cup,. your country’s first ever trip to the big dance, and who is sitting there waiting for you but the next door neighbours.
As if that’s not typical enough, they jam-bag their way in to an early lead through that butter-wouldn’t-melt Gary Lineker lad.
After spending 64 minutes behind to the Three Lions, enough was enough.
1. Packie Bonner made this face
It’s a face that says ‘no way am I losing this game to this shower!’ And it set the tone for everything that followed.
2. Bombs away!!
Take a good long run up there, Packie. We don’t want Cas using his feet.
3. Re-entry
The ball comes down from orbit and is deftly met by Tony Cascarino, who ignores the snow and ice coating, keeping his eye on the ball (and his challenger) at all times.
4. Sheer Cas
Obviously, we should stop to marvel at the incredibly athleticism of Cascarino out-jumping the revered Terry Butcher after 72 minutes of World Cup action. But along with that look how, in one fluid motion, he managed to play the ball off the back of his head and into space.
If Andy Gray was still on proper TV he’d be saying: “He’s saying to Kevin Sheedy, ‘come on, mate. Get on the end of that then.’
5. The Alan McLoughlin threat
England initially look well set up in defence, but Alan McLoughlin continues his run in to the box despite the ball going sideways. The English defence is now in a panic, three defenders go with the McLoughlin who is still fresh eight minutes after replacing John Aldridge.
6. Sheedy makes a balls of it
7. Steve McMahon makes an even bigger balls of it
The yellow lines here indicate the possible courses of action McMahon could have taken to be credited with an ‘alright’ first touch.
The orange section is the one place he did not want the ball to go.
8. Andy Townsend joins Sheedy on the hunt for the ball
9. Three men enter the collision, two stroll clear. One of them is Sheedy…
10. And he unleashes the the purest left foot strike any non-Argentinian has ever seen
Originally published Tuesday at 21.00
