SEAMUS COLEMAN said he was ‘in a zone’ last night during the Republic of Ireland’s epic Euro 2016 win over Italy in Lille.
Coleman was handed the Irish captaincy by manager Martin O’Neill – and the Killybegs man revelled in the role on a night for the ages as Robbie Brady’s 85th minute winner set the Boys in Green hurtling for the last 16.
At one point, he could be seen bellowing at James McCarthy like a man possessed.
But it was perhaps his tackle on Mateo De Sciglio, after just 20 seconds of the game, that set the tone for the Irish display.
“I was in a zone,” he said afterwards.
“Once I knew I was captain that I had a job to do. The lads have to look up to you and I was fully focused on making this a memorable night for Ireland.”
15 years ago, in September 2001, Roy Keane did something similar when he chopped into Marc Overmars on the day Ireland sealed a place in the World Cup play-offs thanks to a 1-0 win over Netherlands.
Keane is a big fan of Coleman and would have been thrilled to see the Donegal man, who really came to life as captain, lay down the law to the Italians.
The boys at balls.ie grabbed the moment:
