This will have pride of place, in a frame, on the wall.
Shane Long has scored some important goals for Ireland along the way but none more so than last night at the Aviva Stadium.
With just 20 minutes to go and fresh off the bench, the Southampton striker raced clear of the German defence and blasted home past Manuel Neuer.
His teammates, who had hustled and harried the Germans all night, held out for a 1-0 win.
“It’s amazing,” Long to Sky Sports after the final whistle.
Of the matchwinner, he said, “I knew I had to take a touch out in front of me, to give myself a good chance to hit it. The ball sat up perfect for me.
“He is probably the best goalkeeper in the world – I had to hit it hard, to get it past him quick, so he had no time to react.”
After yelping into the RTE microphones, Long then went to the crowd and threw away his jersey.
However, it seems he hit the target again.
“My family is in the crowd,” he explained.
“That is either coming back with me [to England] or going in my mum’s house.
“It’s very special; they support me every game so to keep a bit of a memento from a game like that would be great.”
