September 7th, 2015.
Ireland host Georgia at the Aviva Stadium knowing full well that anything less than a victory and we could kiss our hopes of qualifying for Euro 2016 goodbye.
The first hour was so bloody typical. The Georgians, having claimed a surprise win against Scotland just days before, we're looking to head home with back to back results and their heads held high, and so had proven to be more stubborn that usual in not rolling over and having their bellies rubbed the way everyone in green had hoped.
Ireland looked out of ideas, until Jeff Hendrick popped up on the left wing. His inclusion was not a surprise, as Martin O'Neill had made it clear that the young Derby midfielder was here to stay in the Irish setup, but he was yet to show his true worth, his ability to create something out of nowhere. Until that moment.
It was glorious. You could hear the disbelief in the Irish fans that stood up and shouted "Go on...!" in unison. Was this an Irish player dribbling through a defence instead of just cautiously around it before passing backwards or pumping it out for a throw in? Yes, it was, and as he popped the ball through ______schvili's legs before leaving _____anidze on his arse, we all knew what was going to follow.
That was Hendrick's arrival.
Still being called Hendrix by the vast majority, that was the moment he went from "O'Neill will probably start Hendricks on the left" to "Hendrick has to start."
We saw in France this summer what a fine player Jeff, or "El Jefé" as we have grown fond of referring to here in the office, is capable of, and having gone on to score his first Ireland goal away to Serbia last month, and then his first Premier League goal in his first match for Burnley after becoming their record transfer signing... It's clear that he has grown immensely in the past year.
In his post match interview he claimed that he knew he had to make something happen because he "gave the ball away about four times before that", but that in itself is was refreshing to see from an Irish footballer. Too many players are guilty of struggling early on and letting the head drop, hoping for someone else to do the job. Instead, Jeff threw caution to the wind and went in search of a nutmeg.
Going into the European Championships all we heard was about how old the squad was, and how there was no talent coming through, but the performances of Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick forced those who were moaning to become optimistic as we now had a belief that a squad could be built around them.
So rarely do Irish goals come from nowhere like that one did. Usually, it's either a set-piece or a second ball, we're just not treated to the type of individual brilliance we saw that night. As mad as it seems, it restored our faith in our nation's ability to produce "proper" footballers, and Johnny Giles and Eamon Dunphy haven't shut up about "street footballers" since.
For Irish fans, it was the moment we stood up and took notice of Hendrick as a young player who could really make a difference. And you sense that he himself took a massive boost in confidence from it too. Back then he was struggling to get into the Derby County team, and that makes it all the more statisfying when you look at what he has achieved since.
