The Irish bench went predictably insane last night in the aftermath of John O'Shea's last-gasp equaliser, but while we got to see Martin O'Neill lose the run of himself by trotting a full seven or eight yards across his technical area, the entire viewing public was denied the sight of his assistant's reaction.
Of course, it was an entirely understandable decision by the German TV producer to only show the reaction of the head coach, but still, plenty of us were curious of how his number two dealt with the pandemonium. Did he maintain a steely calm while all around him were losing theirs? Did he curse the fact that they'd gone behind to a pretty soft goal? Did he lose all inhibition and pile on top of the lads like he did - perhaps surprisingly - in his playing days?
The only thing that would have made that equaliser better is if Roy Keane did a Mick McCarthy celebration like in 2002 #COYBIG — Quinton O'Reilly (@qoreilly) October 14, 2014
Well Quinton, the truth is even better, but all we have to go on is the testimony of some of those present. It turns out that Keano went even more gaga than we could have imagined. Not that we begrudge him a second of it.
From @IrishTimes When Ire scored..."The Irish bench was overjoyed: Roy Keane hugged more Irish players than he ever did in his playing days"
— Brendan O'Sullivan (@brenos100) October 14, 2014
According to Dion Fanning of the Sunday Independent, Keane's exuberance resembled that of David Pleat when his Luton Town side earned a famous late victory over Manchester City in 1983. All Roy was missing was the horrific tan suit and shoes, it seems. Said Fanning:
In the dug-out, Roy Keane, the scourge of the moral victory, danced on the pitch like David Pleat. It was hard to think if he had ever looked so happy.
I don't think I've ever seen Roy Keane look so happy — Dion Fanning (@dionfanning) October 14, 2014
What an image.
