IAN HARTE
Leeds 3-0 Deportivo
April 4, 2001
Champions League quarter-final
“What naturally stands out from that game is the free-kick I scored [above]. I hit the ball as hard as I could and it flew in off the crossbar. Not only that, we won 3-0 and it was probably one of the best nights in Leeds United history. Whenever I took free-kicks, I imagined lines on a motorway and tried to strike the ball within those. I always used to visualise where I wanted to place my free-kicks, which I’d combine with my technique. Though we went on to lose the second leg in Spain 2-0, thankfully that didn’t matter because we’d done enough to progress to the semi-finals against Valencia. Leeds supporters still love reminiscing about that season to this day, and I get goosebumps when I think about beating Deportivo. It was an amazing achievement to go so far.”
Rep of Ireland 2-0 Iran
November 10, 2001
World Cup qualification play-off
“A huge game for obvious reasons, so it was great to score a penalty to set us on the way to a crucial first-leg victory. Robbie Keane then added our second goal to give us a healthy advantage to take into the second leg, which we lost 1-0. To win a match like that in front of a full Lansdowne Road was something special, and scoring a goal that helps to send your country to the World Cup finals is difficult to beat. The Irish fans always made an unbelievable amount of noise and it gave us the edge in a lot of games. We also had some fantastic lads who were never afraid to get stuck into opponents – guys like Roy Keane, Robbie Keane, Damien Duff and many others. It was a wonderful time to be a Republic of Ireland player and pulling on the green shirt was massive for me.”
Carlisle 3-2 Hartlepool
December 1, 2009
League One
“I scored some good goals during my spell at Carlisle, and bagged 18 in that season alone. I played predominantly at centre-half and scored via headers, free-kicks and penalties. To almost get 20 goals from that position is a fact I’m very proud of.
