Northern Ireland v Germany, Thurs 5th October

Words Andy Greeves

While no doubt focused on the here and now, Northern Ireland assistant manager Jimmy Nicholl would not be faulted for allowing his mind to drift back to his playing days tonight. MEMORIES OF TWOMAGICAL WINS

able to put on a performance, even against a top class opponent like West Germany.” Just 18 minutes into the encounter, Ian Stewart scored the first goal of his international career against the then reigning European champions. “I remember playing the ball to Billy Hamilton in the run-up to that goal,” explained Jimmy, who won 73 caps for Northern Ireland between 1976 and 1986, scoring once. “Billy laid it off for Ian (Stewart) who struck it with the outside of his right foot. It was a great strike and I remember running over and being the first player to congratulate Ian.” Despite intense pressure from the Germans throughout the match, Northern Ireland managed to hold on for a famous victory.

That’s because Jimmy was a key part of the Northern Ireland side which registered two impressive victories over West Germany in 1982 and 1983. Northern Ireland’s first home match after their impressive display at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain was against the Germans, who had been runners-up at that tournament. A sell-out crowd was at Windsor Park for the game on 17 November 1982, Northern Ireland’s second fixture of the UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying campaign. “The atmosphere at Windsor Park that night was incredible, as you can imagine,” remembers Jimmy. “After our exploits at the 1982 World Cup, there was so much positivity around football in Northern Ireland. People had that expectation of us being

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