Northern Ireland vs Bulgaria (15/10/2024)

In 1981 it was a Jimmy Nicholl free-kick against Israel that resulted in a Billy Hamilton knockdown for Gerry Armstrong to bury the ball in the Spion Kop net and earn our passage to Spain and the 1982 World Cup Finals. Fast forward to 2006 and our famous victory over Spain and the David Healy hat-trick. The second of those memorable goals came from a Sammy Clingan free-kick and a move obviously honed on the training ground. With a clatter of big men in the goal area distracting the Spanish defenders, Clingan rolls the free-kick (which was just outside the penalty area on the North Stand side) into a space at the edge of the box to where Healy has made a perfect blindside run and meets the ball with an unstoppable shot. Pick that one out Mr Casillas! Austin MacPhee (now with Aston Villa and up until recently also with Scotland) was our set piece guru in France in 2016, so it’s only right we give him a callout, but our greatest acclamation should go to Oliver Norwood and Gareth McAuley for superb delivery and perfect execution in the rain in Lyon on that memorable June evening. Every Northern Ireland goal, whether a screamer, scuffed shot, ricochet, penalty or own goal (was there ever a better goal than the famous Artur Boric error in 2009?), is rightly celebrated and mythologised, but in all my years watching the wee team in green few will have generated as much emotion as that classic in Lyon. Maybe I’m exaggerating the challenges. Maybe for a good set piece all you do need is a good delivery and good execution? Long may the mystery continue. Mr Jover at the Emirates will, of course, call it as his expertise, but I wonder if he knows who places the rose on Edith Piaf’s grave.

What actually does happen in the Bermuda Triangle? Does the Yeti/Big Foot actually exist? Who was Jack the Ripper? Was it the Titanic or its sister ship the Olympic which perished in April 1912? What happened to the Marie Celeste? Why does toast always fall buttered side down? Who places the fresh red rose on Edith Piaf’s grave in Paris every day? In footballing terms perhaps we need to ask how we can unravel the mystery of the set piece. Arsenal have recently been the pacesetters when it comes to set pieces. Their set piece coach Nicholas Jover is credited with making Arsenal the gold standard for free-kicks and corners, with the Gunners scoring 24 times from such situations in the 2023-24 season, and they are carrying this on into the current season. Of course such success is a combination of tactical plans and having players who have bought into the concept and are prepared to practice, practice and practice some more. Sitting in the stands it is easy to criticise when set piece deliveries are over hit or under hit, are played to the opponent or they (and players are responsible for this) are just badly taken or the wrong decision is made. Successful set pieces, when boiled down to the basics, need a good delivery and a player on the end of the delivery with a clear plan and skilful execution. Northern Ireland fans have been advocates of the ‘set piece mystery’ for years. We can recall (often with a grimace) the hands in the air and the running over the ball to let a second player launch the free-kick into the opposition penalty area where, with almost robotic inevitability, our centre forward (in the days before false nines) would probably be penalised. That was not always the case, however, and some memorable goals have resulted from free-kicks and corners.

IRISHFA.COM

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