Ireland Survives in a Shoot-Out : Romania Toppled After 120 Minutes of Scoreless Action
Ireland blazed to a 5-4 victory in a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Romania to reach the World Cup quarterfinals today after the game ended in a 0-0 tie despite 30 minutes of overtime.
The first penalty shoot-out of the tournament took the excitement to fever pitch after 120 minutes of scoreless action. The teams were tied at 4 in the shoot-out when Irish goalkeeper Pat Bonner saved Romania’s fifth shot, by Daniel Timofte.
Veteran David O’Leary then slotted home the fifth for Ireland to send his team through to a quarterfinal meeting with Italy or Uruguay in Rome on Saturday.
Timofte, a 22-year-old extra-time substitute, hit the ball to the right of Bonner, who maintained his excellent World Cup form with a catlike dive.
One nail-biting minute later, O’Leary, also a substitute in overtime, drove home a fierce shot to conclude another World Cup upset and send Ireland through to the last eight.
It was a dream finish for the Irish, who were runners-up in Group F and had not been expected to make an impact in their first World Cup.
O’Leary’s penalty took Ireland’s unbeaten run to 17 games and sparked an eruption of singing and dancing by thousands of Irish fans. Ireland’s English coach, Jack Charlton, too nervous to watch the penalties, immediately walked to Romanian Coach Emerich Jenei to shake his hand.
Charlton said the moment of victory was even better than when he played on England’s 1966 World Cup champions.
“I’m delighted for the Irish people,” he said. “There will be a party in this town like you’ve never seen before and there won’t be a moment’s trouble.”
Asked what he said to his players after the match, he replied: “I just said well done. You’ve done everybody proud.”
The game was a tough, physical contest with Ireland breaking up the Romanians’ neat, skillful play with hard tackling and tireless running. Both sides had chances but wasted them with inaccurate finishing.
Romania, runner-up in Group B behind Cameroon after beating the Soviet Union and tying with Argentina, dominated the first half-hour by getting a grip on midfield.
Ioan Sabau made several surging runs from the halfway mark, and playmaker Gheorghe Hagi showed touches of his extravagant skills, but Bonner was seldom seriously threatened.
Ireland fought back into the game after a poor start and began an aerial bombardment of Romania’s penalty area.
The Irish strategy was to capitalize on the height and strength of forwards Niall Quinn and Tony Cascarino, who replaced striker John Aldrige in the 22nd minute when he limped off immediately after being penalized for fouling Hagi.
Midfielder Kevin Sheedy almost scored when Cascarino headed down a crossing pass by midfielder Paul McGrath in the 44th minute, but Romanian goalkeeper Silviu Lung pushed the shot over the bar with an outstretched left foot.
Quinn and Cascarino put headers over the bar after the interval and time and again fullback Chris Morris forced his way down Romania’s left flank and sent over dangerous crosses that left Romania looking uncomfortable.
