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Caulfield goal gives City instant revenge

Cork City  1
St. Patrick's Athletic  0

by Noel Spillane
VETERAN striker John Caulfield fired Cork City into the Harp Lager League Cup final and earned them some measure of compensation for Friday night's league defeat with a smashing early goal which enabled them to beat St. Patrick's Athletic at Turners Cross yesterday.
Before a bumper Bank Holiday crowd that numbered close on 6,0000 fans, who paid gate receipts of over £17,000 - Cork eased into the decider where they will meet either Shamrock Rovers or First Division pace-setters Galway United in the New Year. Rovers and Galway meet in the other semi-final at Tolka Park on Wednesday night, November 13.
Caulfield was back to his best yesterday and doing what he does best - scoring goals. It was his third goal in four games and enough to sweep Dave Barry´s side back into the League Cup final for the second time in four years.
Cork raced into a seventh minute lead when the wily Caulfield smashed home a low right-footed drive, after Kelvin Flanagan's precise pass opened up the visitors defence.
Caulfield delayed his shot to perfection inside the box to beat Trevor Wood on the far post. It was a great finish by Caulfield who was starting his first game in over a month having scored against Sligo Rovers and Finn Harps when coming off the bench as a substitute.
Cork were close to a second goal inside a minute when Derek Coughlan headed an Ollie Cahill corner inches over as the home team opened brightly.
And City had a gilt-edged chance to make it 2-0 when they were awarded a 17th minute penalty after Caulfield was taken down by Thomas Morgan.
Up stepped Flanagan but for the first time this season he missed from 12 yards as Wood dived to his left to make a fine save but then Caulfield looked to be fouled again as he chased up the rebound inside the penalty area. Cork had Dave Hill back in the heart of their defence and he added a stabilising influence that was sadly lacking in Dublin on Friday night.
St. Pat´s, for their part, had just one change in their team, with Irish U-20 star Thomas Morgan in midfield for the injured Eddie Gormley, who was ruled out with a thigh strain.
Mid-way through the first-half Caulfield had another half chance but he shot across the face of the goalmouth and wide of the far post with Wood struggling to regain his ground.
Brian Barry-Murphy came in for the injured Flanagan after 34 minutes before Gerald Dobbs tested Wood with a great strike just before half-time.
Cork´s one moment of panic came in added time in the first-half when Patsy Freyne was in just the right place at the right time to scoop a Steve McGuinness shot from Martin Russell´s corner off the goalline.
Cork continued to dictate the pace and flow of the game after the break and playing into the Shed-end they pinned their opponents back for long periods.
Again though St. Patrick´s showed just how dangerous they can be when Friday night´s two-goal hero Trevor Molloy stole in on the blind side to get a shot on goal but Noel Mooney spread himself well to get the vital deflection and save the home team.
Pat's manager Liam Buckley made two changes mid-way through the second-half when Warren Parkes and Martin Reilly came in for Molloy and Gilzean as they chased that elusive equalising goal.
Keith Long was their third substitution when he came in for midfielder Thomas Morgan but Cork were not to be outdone this time and they held on comfortably to the finish.
"It was great for me to get that goal and that's my third in four games now.
"I think it suited us to be up against St. Pat's again so soon after Friday night's defeat and we were certainly fired up for it today," said Caulfield.

CORK CITY: Mooney; Daly (capt), Coughlan, Hill, Cronin; Flanagan, Herrick, Freyne, Cahill; Caulfield, Dobbs. Sub. Barry-Murphy for Flanagan (injured 34 mins).
ST. PATRICK´S ATHLETIC: Wood; McGuinness, Lynch, Hawkins; Crolly, Osam (capt), Russell, Morgan, Doyle; Gilzean, Molloy. Subs. Parkes for Molloy (54 mins), Reilly for Gilzean (65 mins), Long for Morgan (84 mins).
Referee: John Stacey (Athlone).

Early strike so important, says Barry

by Noel Spillane
CORK CITY manager Dave Barry was delighted with his team's display in erasing the bitter disappointment of Friday night's championship setback against St Patrick's Athletic at Richmond Park, in Dublin.
"We were all very disappointed with our form and our performance in Dublin on Friday night, but I think we make amends for that here today," said Barry.
"It was a good competitive game today between the league champions and the FAI Cup holders, but I think we had a point to prove after Friday's reversal in the capital," he added.
"We didn't give ourselves that much of a chance, to be fair, in Dublin at two goals down inside the opening ten minutes and that left us with a mountain to climb," Barry said.
"I think the energy just drained out of us in Dublin the other night.
"But we hit back with a bang today and I was happy with that," added Barry, whose side scored their first win over St Patrick's Athletic in 10 starts.
The teams have drawn six games in that sequence and St Patrick's Athletic have won three of them. "It was great to win today and get ourselves back into another League Cup final.
"We got a bit of a hiding in Dublin over the weekend, so it was important to put the record straight," added Barry.
"It's not the end of the world for us, but to be fair, Cork were certainly more up for it today than they were on Friday night at Richmond Park," said St Patrick's Athletic boss Liam Buckley.
"They started well today and scored early on, just like we did in the league game on Friday night.
"I think Cork wanted to win it more than us today and they started with a flourish when John Caulfield scored so early on," added Buckley.
"I was disappointed with our performance here in Cork.
"We never picked the pace of the game up when we really needed to.
"We needed to inject something into our game today and that's why I went with three changes in the second-half," he said.
"Trevor Molloy was on a yellow card at any rate when we switched him and Ian Gilzean look tired, and that's why we tried to add a bit of pep to the attack," added Buckley.
"Cork looked far sharper today and they seemed to be more focused in as well.
"It all makes for a right battle in the race for the title," Buckley added.

Gazza swears off drink, vows to play by rules

by Frank Malley
PAUL GASCOIGNE emerged from 16 days of soul-searching yesterday and pledged to quit boozing to save his football career.
Shortly more than a fortnight after entering a drying out clinic, Gascoigne trained with his Middlesbrough colleagues and then, looking lean and fit, insisted he would never again touch a drop of alcohol.
And though his hospital treatment will continue twice-weekly for another month at least, Gascoigne could be back in Middlesbrough's side to face Nottingham Forest in the Premiership on Sunday.
Gascoigne was unwilling to reveal the details of the treatment after a year of torment which has seen him go through a divorce, the death of a close friend and his World Cup exile.
"It wasn't just drinking, it was everything,'' said Gascoigne, who was found on Stevenage station in a distressed state after a drinking binge more than a fortnight ago.
"It was depression and stress. When I got back from the Ireland trip the papers were full of me and I kept thinking 'Why'. I Just thought it was in my best interests to get away, not just from the club and training but to the hospital where it could sort everything out. Trying to sort out how to deal with outside life really.''
Gascoigne revealed that he had organised a couple of five-a-side football games at Marchwood Priory Hospital in Hampshire and had retained his fitness with training sessions at 7am each morning and runs at 11pm each night.
''It hasn't been that difficult,'' he said. ''I've had support from everybody. I just took everything on and I wasn't coping. It was in my best interests that I sorted it out. I was going on to the pitch with a lot of problems.''
Gascoigne refused to blame high-profile friends such as DJs Chris Evans and Danny Baker during a 15-minute press conference which was notable for its lack of emotion.
Indeed, this was anything but the tear-jerking baring of the soul we have seen in the past from the likes of Gascoigne's former team-mate Paul Merson and Arsenal's Tony Adams, both of whom have suffered drink-related problems.
Gascoigne, usually a man who needs no invitation to weep openly, was instead in total control, almost impassive in his dismissal of media inquiries.
Was it hard to ask for help? ''Not really.''
Had the hospital asked him to admit he was an alcoholic? ''I'm not going into that.''
But will you stop drinking, Paul? ''If you say so, yeah. Yeah, I will do, yeah,'' said Gascoigne, in a reply which bordered on the belligerent.
It clearly did not convince the 100 or so assembled media and so the question came once more. So you're not going to have another drink again? ''Yeah.''
By 'Yes', of course, he meant 'No'. But throughout a bizarre and chaotic conference in Middlesbrough's press room, which is not unlike a hospital ward itself, the impression was that Gascoigne placed most of the fault for his predicament on his inquisitors.
''I know when I come out of this press conference I'm going to get followed for the next two or three months, maybe for the next year,'' said Gascoigne. ''It's just dealing with it properly.''
Is it all down to media problems? ''That's what I'm in hospital for, to cope with that,'' he agreed.
So is Gazza a changed man. ''I'll let you decide that,'' he giggled.
Well, his remarkably assured manner certainly gave no sign of him having been through the traumas of rehabilitation which affected Merson and Adams.
And while he admitted ''It's up to me to get back on the park and keep off the drink and cope with things outside football'', you do get the feeling that he has not yet taken complete responsibility for his own damaging actions.
Episodes such as lighting up a cigarette and drinking a pint at half-time in a match during the tour of Ireland. Or smashing Middlesbrough's brand new executive coach in a training ground prank. Or late night bingeing and eating sessions.
Gascoigne refused to talk about England manager Glenn Hoddle or his international ambitions and Middlesbrough manager Bryan Robson appealed for his wayward star to be left alone to complete his treatment. Robson, however, agreed Gascoigne must change his ways.
''The medical people are delighted with him, they say he's an excellent patient,'' said Robson.
''He joined in training this morning and he looks good. I'll give him time to get back in with the lads but playing Sunday is a possibility.
''It's an on-going treatment. We're doing it to try to give him a better life. He's going to have to change his lifestyle to a certain extent, but that doesn't mean he can't enjoy himself.
''Paul stayed at the hospital for two weeks. He could have walked out of the door whenever he wanted to. He hasn't done that and now he's got to go on with the treatment.''

Corofin hang on to win a thriller

Corofin 0-10
Tuam Stars 0-8
ALL-IRELAND club champions Corofin had to withstand late pressure from Tuam Stars to earn themselves a place in the Galway senior football final after a scrappy semi-final in Tuam yesterday.
Only a late save by goalkeeper Martin McNamara from Tuam forward Willie Brogan spared the blushes of the champions, who were well on top throughout but who failed to convert their superiority into scores.
Corofin, who had struggled in the last round against the students of NUIG were keen to avoid a repeat and took the lead within a minute when Jason Killeen side-footed a point from the ground.
However, Kevin Reidy tied matters up a minute later and Galway star Ja Fallon, who was playing at midfield for Stars, gave them the lead.
This lifted the home crowd and they were ecstatic a minute later when Willie Brogan found space to score and give Tuam a two point lead.
However, Corofin's success has been built on determination and within minutes they fought back with Derek Reilly reducing the deficit and then Eddie Steede seeing his pile driver tipped over by Tuam keeper Alan Quirke.
When Shane Conlisk gave Corofin the lead a minute later, it seemed that the champions were going to pull away, but a great score by Tony Costello and another point from Fallon restored Tuam's hopes.
Although Derek Reilly pointed to level matters, a Kevin Reidy free from the sideline gave the home side the slimmest of leads at the interval.
Within seconds of the restart, Tommy Carton ghosted in behind the Corofin defence to double the lead with a point.
Corofin came back, however, with points from Reilly (twice), Michael Donnellan and Michael Kenny but a great Reidy 45 kept Tuam in touch.
Corofin were rattled but Tuam simply did not possess the quality to exploit their vulnerability.
Derek Reilly made space for himself in the last minute to fire over a point, doubling the Corofin lead, but Tuam were demoralised by the late goal miss and failed to make any impression in the closing stages.

Scorers - Corofin: D. Reilly (0-5), M. Donnellan (0-2), E. Steede, M. Kenny, J. Killeen (0-1 each).
Tuam Stars: K. Reidy (0-3), J. Fallon (0-2), T. Costello, W. Brogan, T. Carton (0-1 each).
COROFIN: M. McNamara, O. Burke, B. Silke, J. Lardiner, A. Fahy, R. Silke, J. Lardiner, A. Donnellan, J. Killeen, M. Kenny, S. Conlisk, D. Reilly, E. Steede, M. Donnellan, Subs: K. Comer for M. Donnellan.
TUAM: A. Quirke, J. Fallon, S. Fallon, A. Colleran, C. Donnellan, K. Fallon, M. Hogan, J. Fallon, T. Hynes, T. Costello, W. Brogan, T. Carton, D. Devaney, K. Reidy, Subs: O. Hynes for T. Hynes, C. Colleran for D. Devaney.
Referee: M. Gibbons.

Salthill 0-11
Dunmore McHales 0-8
THE controversy that has dogged this year's Galway senior football championship continued at Tuam Stadium yesterday when the "on-off" quarter final between Dunmore McHales and Salthill was suspended in the closing stages after a free-for-all brawl on the pitch.
However, after some negotiations, play was restarted and the fancied Dunmore side, driven by the silken skills of the Donnellan brothers, were eliminated by a hard working Salthill side.
Both sides finished with just 13 players after an explosive last quarter of what had been up to then a scrappy match played in heavy conditions.
Dunmore had started the brighter and were two points clear by the fifth minute after scores from John Dooley and John Donnellan, but Salthill drew level through Tommy McDonnell and PJ Kelly.
Donnellan was a constant threat and spurred on by the driving runs of his brother, compromise rules star Michael, he ran Salthill ragged and he turned well to restore Dunmore's lead.
Conor McGauran levelled soon afterwards and then the sides exchanged points through McDonnell and Francis Keenan.
It was tit for tat for the remainder of the half with McGauran and Declan Burke scoring for Salthill and Donnellan (twice) seeing the sides level at six points each at the break.
Salthill were first out of the traps after the interval and McGauran and Mark Gibbs gave them a two point lead within five minutes, and after 10 they were three up through Richard Butler.
With the game petering out, the afternoon was turned on its head when Michael Donnellan was sent clear and he ran in on goal keeper Cathal McGinley, sent him flying and was sent off.
However, the incident sparked off a brawl which saw John Donnellan laid out cold on the pitch and over a dozen players exchanging punches.
Salthill midfielder Mark Gibb, who had acted as peacemaker in the brawl, was also surprisingly sent off and Salthill rushed in sub goalie Vincent Jennings to face the penalty.
His first touch was to deflect Michael Donnellan's penalty against the post and when the ball was cleared to safety, another brawl broke out which saw Dunmore's John Dooley sent off.
When order was not restored, referee Mick Hurley abandoned the game and urged both sides to leave the field.
However, Salthill refused to leave and after 15 minutes Dunmore came back to play the remaining 10 minutes.
As they scrambled for the equaliser, Dunmore's J.P. Donnellan was ordered off after charging into Declan Burke and a McGauran free moments later sealed the surprise victory for the city side.

Scorers - Salthill: C. McGauran (0-4), T. McDonnell (0-3), D. Burke, J. Kelly, R. Butler, M. Gibbs (0-1 each). Dunmore: J. Donnellan (0-6), F. Keenan, J. Dooley, B. Murray (0-1 each).
SALTHILL: C. McGinley, J. Kilraine, I. O'Donoghue, A. Mulholland, J. Cox, R. Doyle, P. Ryan, D. Gilmartin, M. Gibbs, D. Burke, J. Kelly, R. Butler, T. McDonnell, C. McGauran, M. Butler. Subs: V. Jennings for M. Butler, S. O'Dowd for Gilmartin.
DUNMORE: N. Walsh, J.P. Donnellan, T. Ryder, J. Slattery, J. Henry, L. Quinn, F. Keenan, D. Cronin, V. Martin, J. Ronayne, M. Donnellan, J. Dooley, K. Curry, J. Donnellan, C. Donnellan, Subs: B. Murray for D. Cronin, J. Canney for J. Ronayne.
Referee: N. Curley (Galway).

Lucas Radebe: wanted at Leeds for life.

O'Leary plans to nail stars for rest of their careers
by Ian Parkes
NEW Leeds manager David O'Leary is planning to nail Lucas Radebe to an extended Elland Road contract to prevent the South African star from being poached.
Skipper and central defender Radebe, like goalkeeper Nigel Martyn, both have 18 months remaining on their current deals, with the Premiership vultures beginning to circle. Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale has already revealed that he plans to back O'Leary to the hilt in the transfer market, with the possibility of the United chequebook being opened this week.
But just as important for O'Leary as bringing new players in is keeping hold of those already at the club who he sees as vital to the Yorkshiremen winning any silverware during his reign.
Ridsdale admitted last week that he would like to sign up England international Martyn for the rest of his career and O'Leary is eager to do likewise with World Cup star Radebe, who is quickly earning himself a reputation as the Premiership's best defender.
Radebe will be 31 by the time his present contract expires, so O'Leary is hoping that negotiations will see the South African captain sign a three or four-year extension.
Both Martyn and Radebe have recently been linked with moves away from Leeds, with Tottenham and former manager George Graham heading the queue of clubs willing to sign the duo.
But O'Leary, who accepted a two-and-a-half-year contract offer on Sunday evening after four games in charge as caretaker, said: "I think I have the respect of both Lucas and Nigel.
"Lucas is a tremendous player and I hope the club give him a contract which will secure him here for the rest of his career.
"As far as I'm concerned his feet should be put in cement, he should be nailed down and never allowed to leave this club.
"He has no bigger supporter than me and there won't be a lack of effort on my part to keep him here, but the financial side of things, that's down to the chairman.
"If we are going to build and get other players in," stressed O'Leary, "then we will not be selling two of our key players in Nigel Martyn and Lucas Radebe."
O'Leary, who is set to make enquiries for "two quality players" this week, according to chairman Ridsdale, has already been linked with several names, including England and Newcastle midfielder David Batty.
The former Elland Road star still lives near United's Wetherby training ground and was the subject of a planned approach by Leeds which eventually fell by the wayside due to Graham's rapid departure to White Hart Lane.
O'Leary has clearly learnt from Graham, though, and is refusing to conduct any of his transfer business in public. Speaking yesterday, the Irishman said: "I'm not going to mention any players.
"I will only mention players when I have them here. It's unfair for me to speculate. I will try to do business in the appropriate way and do it quietly."

Keegan hoping Pool will rest super Owen

ANFIELD old boy Kevin Keegan is hoping Liverpool do him a favour and leave wonderboy Michael Owen out of tonight's Worthington Cup clash at Anfield.
Owen roared back from being rested against Valencia to score four goals against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, and Fulham will be more confident of an Cup upset if Owen's name is not on the team sheet.
Assistant manager Frank Sibley joked: ''I got a report from one of our scouts who said Owen was awesome. He watched him on Saturday and said: 'Whatever you do about Michael Owen, make sure you have plenty of cover.' So we have signed Commercial Union.
''I watched Match of the Day and was very impressed. A week ago everyone was saying how jaded Owen looked but he didn't look jaded on Saturday.
''But there will be no special measures for him because he might not play. They might leave Owen out and bring Robbie Fowler back.''
Former Liverpool star Peter Beardsley, now in his third month on loan at Fulham, backed Owen to become as much of an Anfield legend as his old striking partner Ian Rush. ''Owen's magnificent. There is no other way to describe him. I played against him for Bolton last year and it was a pleasure to be on the same pitch. He has the potential to be as good as Rush.
''It will be a big night for me and for Fulham and I'm very much looking forward to it. The Liverpool result is always one of the first I look for,'' Beardsley said.
Keegan will miss out on the chance to marshal his side at the ground where he became a cult hero.
The Fulham boss is still recovering from a neck operation last week, but is expected to watch the game from the stands.
''There's a good possibility he will be at the game, probably not in the dressing room,'' said Sibley.

Ravanelli questioned by judge at doping inquiry

FORMER Middlesbrough striker Fabrizio Ravanelli was questioned by a judge in Turin yesterday as part of a continuing inquiry into doping in Italian football.
Ravanelli is the latest in a long list of current and former Juventus players interviewed by state prosecutor Raffaele Guariniello as part of his investigation into substances given to footballers.
Ravanelli played for Juventus from 1992 to 1996 before joining Middlesbrough. He is now at Olympique Marseille.
Guariniello is particularly interested in the effects of creatine, the naturally-occurring amino-acid which can be legally taken by athletes in concentrated form to improve muscle performance. It is common in the English Premiership, with Arsenal players taking it.
The Marseille striker told the judge he had taken between 6-8 grammes of creatine a day but had stopped when he realised that he had put on an extra two kilos in weight in three weeks.
Ravanelli said he had not taken it since leaving Italy.
Guariniello opened his inquiry last August after insinuations by respected Roma coach Zdenek Zeman that current and former Juventus idols Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluca Vialli had used drugs to build up their muscles.

Whites knight O'Leary has nerve to steer Leeds to glory 

by Frank Malley
TWENTY-FIVE years ago David O'Leary crossed the Irish Sea with £5 in his pocket, a ticket for the London Underground and a shy and unassuming schoolboy's passion for football.
Today he has a job worth £1·5 million over the next two-and-a-half years and the promise of millions more to restore Leeds United to the pinnacle of English football.
It's a journey sprinkled with a healthy work ethic and the odd dash of magic.
It also proves that nice guys can make it in the increasingly unprincipled, money-mad world of Premiership soccer. Speak to anyone in the game about O'Leary and the conversation is liberally dotted with soccer-speak cliches of the most noble variety.
A model professional, a decent guy, a true gentleman. And perhaps most common of all — an honest and loyal chap. Of course it's crazy to hand an untried number one — with two draws, two defeats and just one goal from his four matches as caretaker — a £600,000-a-year salary.
But in a game now bedevilled by players and agents chasing a fast fortune with the advent of freedom of contract O'Leary's career does stand out like a shining beacon.
In 20 years at Highbury he played 722 matches, an Arsenal record, making his debut as a 17-year-old in a goalless draw at Burnley in August 1975. He was never sent off in a first-team game.
It's the kind of loyalty virtually extinct in modern times and gives a clue as to why he stayed put to stabilise Elland Road when manager George Graham left for Spurs last month.
There were doubtless other reasons: among them the fact that had Leicester's Martin O'Neill taken over at Leeds, O'Leary would have been eligible for a bumper pay-off.
And if he had jumped ship and joined Tottenham his long-term ambition of a position back at his beloved Arsenal might have been jeopardised.
As it is he takes charge of a Leeds side revitalised by Graham but, by O'Leary's own admission, needing three world-class players to mould them into a team capable of challenging Manchester United and Arsenal for the Premiership title.
The fear is that he may be just too nice to survive as the hirer and firer at a volatile Premiership club. It is not a view shared by his former Arsenal manager Terry Neill.
"Yes, he's an extremely nice person," says Neill. "But there is steel there too. You don't survive at Arsenal for so long playing alongside the likes of a giant, red-haired Aberdonian like Willie Young if you don't have a tough side.
"He is a very determined lad, though I don't see why you have to be a real bastard to be a manager. You can't be too hard so long as you are fair."
Neill reckons the manner in which the Leeds players have responded to O'Leary over the past three weeks, especially last week's spirited UEFA Cup performance against Roma, is indicative of the respect in which he is held.
"He has kept it together at a very difficult time and the players obviously respond to him," says Neill. "But he knows the game. He has learned under George Graham, Don Howe, Bertie Mee and, I hope, even myself. That's not a bad apprenticeship.
"There are no guarantees because football management is difficult at every level. But he knows what he is letting himself in for."
A measure of his iron will and attention to detail is the way he insisted on the ground rules and demanded assurances of his spending power before he took the job.
Don't be fooled by the gentle giant's soft Irish brogue. He is no soft touch. His anger at referee Mike Reed's 13 bookings and a sending off in yesterday's match at Chelsea was obvious. He was famed at Highbury for giving officials a hard time.
And judging by his touchline ban for over-zealous complaints to officials against Maritimo of Madeira in the UEFA Cup first round, he has retained a fiery distaste for perceived injustice.
But anyone who can take command of a situation as frightening and chaotic as the emergency landing of Leeds United's burning plane last April has obvious leadership qualities.
O'Leary has always played down his role in the evacuation of the aircraft, but he was singled out by the crew for the cool and calm way in which he helped panicked passengers to escape. He handled death threats from an Irish terrorist organisation, who accused him of links with the British Conservative Party six years ago, in the same phlegmatic manner.
O'Leary, who is married to Joy, has two children and lives in Harrogate. He was born in Stoke Newington but the family returned to their Dublin roots before his first birthday.
Arsenal continually tried to persuade him to take out a British passport to aid travelling in Europe but he always refused, believing it would compromise his patriotism to his beloved Republic of Ireland.
It certainly didn't harm a glittering career. O'Leary appeared in three consecutive FA Cup finals between 1978-80. He played in the victorious 1987 Littlewoods Cup team and was a cornerstone of the epic 1989 championship triumph when Arsenal snatched the title from Liverpool at Anfield.
It was perhaps the high point of his playing days, for when Arsenal won the title again in 1991 he made just 11 appearances. In 1993 he left for Leeds, determined to play on because as he explained: "Once you stop playing, that's it. The dream is over."
As a player O'Leary is perhaps best remembered for the spot kick against Romania which took the Republic of Ireland into the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Manager Jack Charlton was unable to watch but O'Leary, displaying that trademark coolness once more, slotted the ball into the net with the aplomb of a striker.
"People always ask me about the pressure I was under at that moment," he says. "But the fact is I learned to live with pressure over the years at Highbury."
It is an education which now faces its toughest examination. But all the signs are that the star pupil has learned his lessons well.

Bassett unable to stop return of van Hooijdonk

by Ian Rodgers
NOTTINGHAM FOREST manager Dave Bassett admitted yesterday he was powerless to prevent Pierre van Hooijdonk's return to the City Ground.
The Dutch World Cup star will end his three-month strike from the Premier League strugglers on Friday after a decision made by Forest's plc board — against Bassett's wishes.
"In an ideal world this would not have happened," Bassett said. "I was aware of a meeting that had taken place between Irving Scholar and van Hooijdonk but I was sworn to secrecy.
"This was not a football decision, it was a corporate decision. The club is the major factor. We have discussed the situation at plc level and I will go along with the decision of the board.
"We are not going to sell him while he's at home in Holland, so some form of action had to be taken. It was felt that this was the best way of dealing with it."
Van Hooijdonk, who scored 34 goals as Forest won the First Division title last season, has said he is prepared for a mixed reception from his team-mates after he went on strike, claiming the club lacked ambition.
"I am ready for a bit of, what shall we call it, banter from the players but I hope, after a meeting with them, that I can explain and build bridges," he said. "I hope I can also can recover the relationship I had with the fans." Van Hooijdonk, who will remain on the transfer list, could make his return to action for Forest in a reserve encounter with Birmingham at the City Ground next Tuesday.
Mel Hart, chairman of the Nottingham Forest Supporters' Club, greeted the news of van Hooijdonk's return with mixed feelings.
He believes that the rebel star had no right to treat the club the way he did but he insisted van Hooijdonk was only saying what many fans were thinking.
"While I cannot condone what he has done, he did say what some of the fans were feeling and he was probably right in what he said," Hart said.
"But if you've got a problem, you sort it out, you don't run away from it and let everyone else sort it our for you. That is not the way to go.
"I'm glad that both sides are now talking to each other and the saga is going to come to an end," Hart added. "Hopefully Pierre can come back and turn it around on the pitch."

© Examiner Publications Ltd, 1998