Dunne reflects on Henry handball and THAT Russia performance

Extra.ie​

7 hours ago

Richard Dunne had plenty of standout moments throughout his footballing career.
Whether it was captaining Manchester City or leading Ireland to the European Championships with his no-nonsense defending, Dunne reached heights that have been somewhat lacking for the Boys in Green since his retirement.
However, one of the most disappointing nights of his career is one that Ireland fans remember all too well. A videograb of Thierry Henry's handball that led to France's goal against Ireland in the World Cup play-off second leg in 2009. Pic: Sky Sports
In November 2009, Irish hearts were broken by the left hand of Thierry Henry.
After Ireland forced France to extra-time on their own turf, a place in the 2010 FIFA World Cup seemed a real possibility against all odds.
However, with the match looking like it could head to penalties, a moment that has lived in infamy ever since occurred.
When a long ball into the Irish box was slightly overhit and heading out for a goal-kick, Thierry Henry slipped into a blind spot for the referee, blatantly controlled it with his hand and tapped it across for William Gallas to head home.
Despite the disbelief from Ireland's players, the referee was none the wiser and the tie finished 2-1 to France on aggregate.
Dunne was of course in the penalty box when the incident occurred and he has reflected that while anger and disappointment were the predominant feelings at the time, ultimately they just had to get on with it. Ireland were left in disbelief after the goal. Pic: Laurent ZABULON/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Speaking with bookmaker Betfree, he said: 'It was just disappointment. You know that a decision has gone against you so there is a bit of that (robbed feelings), but as professional players you deal with it and move on.
'Of course it keeps getting brought up, a bit like Diego Maradona's handball against England, but the players move on and in the heat of the moment you're annoyed and angry but you have to play every game the Saturday afterwards.
'It is tough to take but throughout the course of your career, some will go for you and some will go against you, it's just the way it is.'
Although the France result felt like such a low point at the time, a couple of years afterwards, Ireland fans got to witness one of Dunne's highest rated performances on the international stage.
In September 2011, Ireland visited Russia in a UEFA European Championship qualifier and never has a goalless draw been remembered like this one.
Russia bombarded the Irish box with crosses and shots all game and were simply left stunned by how the ball never made it through to the back of the net.
A major reason why it ended this way was Richard Dunne. Dunne's replacement shirt against Russia became iconic. Pic: David Maher / SPORTSFILE
Dunne finished the match wearing an iconic blank jersey that had to have the number five drawn on it with marker after his original shirt was bloodied following one of his many challenges.
He drew the 'Iron Curtain' across Ireland's goal and with the help of Shay Given, his defensive heroics earned an invaluable point that ultimately led Ireland to Euro 2012.
When asked if he knew what an immense performance he was putting on at the time, Dunne remarked 'probably not' and added that while as a player you have a feeling if you're playing well, it was 'just a 0-0 draw in Russia' at the end of the day.
He said: 'It was good and it's nice that it's something to be remembered by and I've obviously still got the scars from it.
'It's just of those things that follows you around I suppose.' Dunne's performance is remembered every year. Pic: INPHO/Donall Farmer
One of the standout moments of the match was Dunne's unbelievable goal line clearance in the first half.
Reflecting on it, he continued: 'It is funny, like every year it comes up and people show little clips of it.
'It's good to show my son and let him see it and stuff like that but sometimes it happens and you're just in the right place at the right time and it just happened on a couple of occasions that night.
'I think it's tough to really understand it. It's just one of those things that happened and you're really proud of it.
'It's just a nice memory to have.'