15 February 1913: The Black And Tans
On this day, Irish debutant Billy Gillespie (right) scored his first two international goals, giving his side a 2-1 victory over England, in the 1913 British Home Championship. The win was Ireland's first ever over England in 32 matches. (The Home Championship was an annual tournament played at the end of the season in Britain).The match was played at Windsor Park in Belfast, before a crowd of 20,000. It was England's first contest in that year's tournament, while Ireland had already played one match, a 0-1 loss to Wales on 18 January.
England gained the early advantage with a 35th-minute strike from winger Charlie Buchan, but Gillespie brought the hosts level in the 43rd minute, then put them ahead for good seventeen minutes later. Unfortunately for Ireland, it was their only win of the tournament and they finished in last place after a 1-2 loss to Scotland. England rallied to win their last two matches, 4-3 over Wales and 1-0 over Scotland, to finish in first place. Ireland and Gillespie would gain some revenge the following season, however, beating England 3-0 on their way to the BHC title, the first outright title won by Ireland.
Gillespie, an inside forward who played his club ball for Sheffield United, would go on to become Ireland's most-capped player with 25 appearances and score a total of thirteen goals--a record that would not be tied until 1992 (by Colin Clarke) and not broken until 2004 (by David Healy).
14 February 2004: A Valentine's Day Saint
On 14 February 2004, Tunisia gave their home supporters a deserved gift by winning the country's first African Cup of Nations trophy, beating Morocco 2-1 at Tunisia's largest stadium, Stade 7 Novembre in the city of Radès.The 2004 tournament was Tunisia's third as hosts; in 1965, the Eagles of Carthage had finished as runners-up to Ghana, while in 1994, they were eliminated in the group stage. They started the 2004 edition in strong fashion, winning their group ahead of Guinea, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The highlight of the group stage was Tunisia's 3-0 win over the Congo DR--the only match in the tournament Tunisia won by more than a single goal.In the knockout rounds, they slipped past Senegal in the quarterfinals, 1-0, before going to penalty kicks against Nigeria in the semis. Drawn at 1-1 at the end of extra time thanks to offsetting penalty kicks, each of Tunisia's five kickers converted their chances in the shootout, while Nigerian striker Osaze Odemwingie missed his.
In the Final against Morocco, Tunisia jumped ahead quickly with a 5th-minute goal from striker Francileudo dos Santos (pictured). Morocco got a 38th-minute equalizer from midfielder Youssef Mokhtari, before striker Ziad Jaziri netted the matchwinner in the 52nd minute. Dos Santos' goal was his fourth of the tournament, tying him with four others for golden boot honors. At this time he was Tunisia's top scorer, with 22 goals in 40 appearances.
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