It was, by any stretch, a day of days.
The front page of The Irish Times on November 16th, 1989, the morning after the afternoon before, carried a quite epic image of John Aldridge spinning away in celebration after scoring Ireland’s opening goal against Malta at the Ta’ Qali Stadium.
The photo was taken from a grass-level perspective within the goal, facing out towards the pitch, the top of the net framing the moment Aldridge and Ireland realised history was beckoning them forward. Ireland would be going to the ball. The songs could be written, the trip to end all trips could be planned.
“Beating England (in Euro 88), that was the most memorable game that I played for Ireland,” recalls Aldridge now, 33 years on from that day in Malta.
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“But then to know that we were going to the World Cup for the first time was just an amazing feeling.”
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Ireland beat Malta 2-0, securing qualification to the World Cup. Jack Charlton’s side entered the game already on the runway for a flight to Italy, but any slipup against Malta could have grounded history.
Hungary were playing Spain in Seville at the same time. If Ireland lost to Malta, and Hungary beat Spain, while also managing to overtake Ireland’s advantage of a plus six scoring difference, then the Magyars would have been going to Italy instead. But it turned out events in Malta were somewhat irrelevant as Spain won 4-0.
Nevertheless, it was at the Ta’ Qali Stadium where Ireland officially qualified for the 1990 World Cup.
“We had a great night with the supporters in some nightclub,” recalls Aldridge. “It was buzzing.”
Aldridge, on a personal level, had even more reasons to be buzzing. A great weight fell from his shoulders that day. Having made his international debut in 1986, it took Aldridge – a prolific goal-scorer at club level - until that Malta encounter to register his first competitive goal for Ireland, in what was his 28th appearance. His only previous goal was in a friendly against Tunisia in 1988, a game that marked his 20th cap.
“I think it was psychological a little bit,” says Aldridge, who was playing in Spain with Real Sociedad at the time.
“I did get chances, but for some reason they wouldn’t go in for me. I remember scoring against Luxembourg, a great goal. I was celebrating, giving it all that with all the fans. The next minute I heard Ronnie (Whelan) saying, ‘Aldo, get back’. I turned around. Offside. I was about two yards onside. How could that be disallowed? That was another killer.
“(When you are not scoring) all of a sudden the goalie looks a little bit bigger and the goals look a little bit smaller.
“But then I wasn’t a striker for Ireland, I was a runner. How we played, my game was outside the box. The ball would go to the full-back, it would be put to the corner flag, I’d run, get the ball.
“We’d push up to the halfway line, I’d hold it up, lay it back to Ray (Houghton), Ray would put a ball in the box and we’d have players coming in at the far post. I’d be outside the box. That’s my excuse anyway!”
Amidst the celebrations after that win in Malta, the Irish media cornered Aldridge to get his thoughts on qualification and finally breaking his competitive international goal-drought.
Journalist Peter Byrne described in The Irish Times how the scene played out: Jack Charlton broke the habit of a lifetime and invited the ladies and gentlemen of the press to trifle for as long as they wished with members of his squad. Noticing a cluster of reporters surrounding John Aldridge, he exhorted them to “keep him as long as you like – he has kept us waiting long enough for his goals.”
Just like the old Dublin Bus gag, having waited a lifetime for one, Aldridge scored two against Malta – the first a glancing header from a corner and the second a penalty he tucked away complete with his trademark Aldo shuffle.
“There were still Irish people on the planes, who didn’t get to the game. They didn’t land on time. It was a nightmare for them, but they landed and had a good night out anyway.”
Fog in Dublin had grounded flights, forcing hundreds of fans to scamper off on all sorts of wild adventures to wind up in Valletta.
Aldridge would go on to score a total of 19 goals for Ireland in 69 appearances, retiring from the international stage in 1996.
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“That time we played Malta, Hungary were playing Spain and Jack thought we were going to get stitched up. He was saying, ‘Make sure you win.’ I felt like I repaid Jack for sticking with me.
“When you score a couple of goals you get your belief back. After that, I was off as a sub or on as a sub or whatever, but I was back to nearly one in every two games if you look at the minutes. The first 19 games were just crazy, but I have to say I did enjoy that night in Valletta.”
Ireland went back to Malta in June 1990 for a friendly in the build-up to the World Cup. They also played a European Championship qualifier there in 1999, winning 3-2.
And tomorrow, 33 years on from that day of days, Ireland will return to the Ta’ Qali Stadium for a friendly international against Malta – that footballing outpost on the edge of Europe that proved Ireland’s gateway to the best of times.
