Raymond James 'Ray' Houghton (born 9 January 1962, Castlemilk, Glasgow, Scotland), is revered by Irish football fans for being the scorer of a hugely important goal in the national team's history.
The Republic of Ireland's first match in the 1988 European Championship was against England on 12 June 1988 at the Neckarstadion in Stuttgart, West Germany. It was the Republic’s debut match in their debut appearance at a major international tournament.
Few people gave Ireland any chance of beating England as they appeared to have superior, high-profile players in almost every position. The match was barely six minutes old when the Irish struck. A typical long ball out of defence found its way into the English box after a succession of mis-timed clearances and mishaps. Ray Houghton lofted a lobbed header over a flat-footed Peter Shilton, making it 1-0 against the ‘auld enemy’ and sparking scenes of unbridled delirium amongst the waves of Irish supporters in the stadium.
England toiled for an equaliser during the remaining 84+ minutes but failed to break-down a resolute Irish defence and stop the boys in green registering a truly historic victory.
‘We’ve got one, now you’ve got to come and get one’.
Jack Charlton
£20.00
