Updated at 9.00
SEAN MAGUIRE DESCRIBED making his much-anticipated international debut as “the best feeling of his life” following Ireland’s 2-0 victory against Moldova in Dublin on Friday night.
A brace from Daryl Murphy earned Ireland a crucial three points in Group D, which sets up what could prove to be a winner-takes-all showdown against Wales on Monday night with a playoff position potentially up for grabs in Cardiff.
Maguire replaced Shane Long after 83 minutes, marking a remarkable turn of events for the 23-year-old who was released from West Ham United as a teenager before stays at Dundalk and Cork City in the League of Ireland saw him return to England in July.
“It’s probably the best feeling of my life,” he said speaking to RTE after the final whistle.
“It’s a proud moment for my family and for me of course. To soak up that atmosphere on that pitch — the last time I stepped onto that pitch we won the FAI Cup with Cork City.”
Maguire last played in Lansdowne Road when he scored the winning goal in the 2016 FAI Cup final for Cork City, one year on from failing to make the bench for opponents Dundalk in the same fixture a year previous.
“To get back onto that pitch and finally get my first international cap is a dream come true,” he said.
The player is still the League of Ireland’s top goalscorer with 21 goals in 21 games for City in 2017, before departing for Preston North End during the summer transfer window where he has started promisingly with two goals in nine games in the Championship.
He reflected that the pace and intensity of international football was of a higher level than he had experienced before, with the player stating in the build-up to Friday’s game that he was more than capable of handling the demands.
“Once you get the ball at your feet they’re going to be on top of you. You won’t have the chance to take that second or third touch. It was good to get a few touches and get on for five minutes,” he said.
The striker replaced Southampton forward Long, with Maguire reflecting that it was an honour to replace another former Cork City player and a hero of his growing up.
“He just said ‘go out and enjoy it and do your thing’”, Maguire said of Long.
“He’s been a great help for me over the last few days giving me tips. He’s a player that I’ve looked up to from a young age, idolised him in every single way because I think I compare myself to him as the type of striker he is.
“He works hard and scores goals. It was a strange but an amazing feeling coming on the pitch for your idol,” he said.
Supporters have called for Maguire’s inclusion in the senior squad for some time following consistent performances for league leaders City in the SSE Airtricity League, with the player simply noting how big of an honour it was for the moment to finally arrive to pull on the green jersey.
He said: “You know, it’s hard to put into words because two years ago… I’ve come a long way. It’s just a big honour for myself and my family.”
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Wow this is shocking. :( He played wonderful football at Celtic…just heard the club’s statement expressing shock and support to him and his family. Hope he makes a full recovery.
As a Villa man i am totally numbed. I am a. huge fan of Stan, just hope he can overcome this.
Who gives a crap about football when the likes of this happens. I hope He gets well soon.
I’m properly gutted to hear this news. We’ve had a few very rocky seasons at Villa recently and Stan has been the heart and soul of the squad through them. Really hope he beats this.
best wishes to himself and his family.. shocking news.. get well soon .
What can one say 32 and then to hear this.I wish him all the best with his treatment.
Get well soon Stan!! Really hope we see him back in a Villa shirt!!
Aston Villa will miss him, get well soon Petrov.
Poor fella , good luck to him
Poor guy, tough going for someone so young.
Gerson therapy has no clinical benefit and had shown to be harmful to patients. U really think a diet will cure cancer…. Get real. They wont even conduct research on this diet because it would be unethical. I have no problem with patients trying alternative therapy in conjunction with the best medical therapy available.
What would be unethical about investigating a cure for cancer? Look up Gerson Therapy: Results of 50 Cases you can download it for free. The X-rays/ct scans were taken from patients who were sent home to die after chemo/radiation and you can see the tumour shrinking. The reason they can say it has no proven benefit is because the scientific method only tests for one variable at a time but the Gerson therapy uses hundreds of variables. I’m guessing you didn’t follow my link or haven’t actually looked up the Gerson therapy, you just saw alternative therapy and dismissed it immediately. That’s what conventional ‘scientists’ do, they dismiss it because they can’t see why it works. It’s complicated biochemistry (cancer and the cure) so because they don’t understand it they throw all the chemo and radiation that they can at the tumour but they ignore the fact that cancer is a disorder not a virus. But it doesn’t matter how it works because the evidence speaks for itself. There’s a huge surge now in the US of medical doctors switching over to nutrition. Prescribing drugs is more profitable than prescribing juices so which do you think is going to be supported? Doctors have no interest in making you better because they make their money off of sick people. They say more people live off cancer than die from it.
great footballer…giant of a player for Celtic in his day. God’s speed and be well….
No I work in cancer care, administer treatments and watch people recover. I don’t look for guidance on evidenced based care from YouTube or google by the way. I agree that the medical profession needs to embrace patient choice but refusing medical care is non sensical. Maybe muamba should have received these such therapies rather than receiving world class care from the chest hospital!!?? I think petrov has a great chance of making a full recovery! Best of luck to him
Frightening. Get well soon.
Good luck, Stiliyan. As has been shown with Muamba,when it comes to the really important things, team colours don’t matter a damn. It’s been fantastic to see footie fans all over the world show support for Fabrice’s recovery. I hope Stiliyan gets that same support and gets back on the pitch soon.
If he was a member of my family i would tell him to skip the ‘treatment’ and go straight on the Gerson therapy. Hopefully he finds out about it in time before he goes for chemo/radiation which’ll only hasten his departure. What a screwed up world we live in when a proven cure is kept from the public sphere by greedy ‘medical. associations who dismiss them as quakery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoUl7F7dWdE&feature=watch-now-button&wide=1
You could also ask Santa to bring you a cure for Christmas. It’s about as realistic as eating fruit, liver and having coffee enemas.
I prefer to drink my coffee, rather than take it up the bum, thanks all the same.
The treatment has to fit the ailment- the therapy is for chronic disease not cardic arrest. Its hard to believe you work in the healthcare profession with a statement like that. And I research peer reviewed journals (obviously not the British Medical Asoc. and the likes). Medical journals are made available online whats the problem with reading them there? but if you refuse to to even consider the evidence there’s nothing more I can say. I’ll continue to expose the truth whenever I can. I don’t see conspracy in everything and I don’t watch Ancient Aliens, but it’s just plain naive to think we’re being told the truth where there’s profit to be made. I hope too that he will make a full recovery and wish him the best of luck whatever route he chooses.