Well, now. Tony Cascarino made an interesting revelation on tonight's Off The Ball show in Galway.
That Irish team, often romantically portrayed as rough and ready dinosaurs in terms of preparation and sports science, were in fact progressive in the area of preparing for penalty shoot-outs.
i.e. They practised them.
And it was revealed that the best man between the sticks during these contests was the only man to score a goal and save a penalty in the same game in English League football - Discopants.
Niall Quinn used to place bets with lads that they wouldn't score on him. And, in the words of Cascarino, Quinny 'cleaned everyone out' in these contests.
So much so, that when 120 minutes of chuffing around in the Genoese sun yielded no goals, even Packie Bonner was imploring Jackie to plonk Quinn between the sticks.
A year later, Quinn tipped a Dean Saunders' penalty over the bar in City's victory over Derby in Maine Road.
Niall Quinn as 1990's answer to Tim Krul.
The penalty shoot-out would have been over even before it got to Timofte and David O'Leary.
