Niall Quinn didn’t mind that John Aldridge grabbed the headlines once again.
Two more goals against Latvia, followed by another two in Dublin 13 months later, took the former Liverpool striker’s tally against the Baltic nation to eight in four games.
Almost half of Aldo’s 19 goals in a green jersey came against tonight’s visitors to the Aviva Stadium.
READ MORE: Evan Ferguson to make first Ireland start against Latvia
But for Quinn, Ireland’s Euro ‘96 qualifier in September 1994 was about more than goals and glory, it was about getting his career back on track.
Rewind 10 months and the Manchester City man was struck down by a dreaded cruciate injury.
His USA ‘94 dream was in tatters, despite Quinn’s insistence that he was fit to play in that summer’s World Cup.
So after four substitute appearances for City in August of 1994, against Arsenal, West Ham, Everton and Chelsea, he started in Riga for the first time for club or country since the injury.
“I got injured in November (1993), then I got septicaemia, I lost three-and-a-half stone, so that Latvia game was a huge game for me,” Quinn recalled.
“I hadn’t convinced anybody in Man City that I was ready to come back.
“I think they brought in a couple of players that summer - Carl Griffiths and Uwe Rosler - to replace me and I really had to prove myself. I was out in the wilderness.
“I hadn’t started a game since the cruciate injury, so the Latvia game in Riga was my first start.
“There was a lot on the line in that game. I hadn’t proved myself to Man City, they had signed players to replace me.
“I don’t remember many games as vividly as I remember that one, because it was a huge test as to whether I was good enough to play international football, never mind Premier League football.
“Aldo went away with the headlines, which was fine. No problems with that. I came through the game and that meant a lot.
“I got myself back into contention at City and went on a bit of a run and I was back. That was a huge month for me.
“So, when people say Latvia, that’s the one I got my career back on.”
Three days after the Latvia fixture, Quinn made his first start for City in a 1-1 draw at home to Crystal Palace.
Later that month, at home to Norwich, he kicked off a run of five goals in five games.
“You can see the importance of the Latvia game to me at that point. After missing the World Cup I had to convince Jack all over again that I was up for it,” said Quinn.
“I was thrilled that I was able to play against Latvia, come through it really well and then find my feet back at City.”
Missing out on the 1994 World Cup still rankles with Quinn.
“I was allowed to train with the Irish team out in America, but Man City wouldn’t allow me to play,” he said.
“Then, when I got back a few days after the World Cup and I went in for the first day of pre-season training, there was a practice match against a university and they picked me.
“I was gutted that they wouldn’t let me play a few weeks earlier and there they were starting me in a match at the training ground.
“I felt ready for the World Cup. I tried everything. I did my own thing. The club had given up on me.
“I got my own operation, I didn’t get the club operation, which caused problems but was the right thing to do.
“Paul Lake and I both had the same injury at the same time and to this day he says to me that he can’t believe he didn’t do what I did. He never got back.
“I joined a gym in Manchester where all the weightlifters were training for the Olympics.
“I’d lost over three stone because of septicaemia, so I started off with a sweeping brush! A guy called Glyn looked after me and I used to get him tickets for matches.
“The first day I went I was gaunt, I had no clothes to fit me, but I had to get going.
“Three months later I was ridiculous. I had a neck on me like a weightlifter. There are some pictures of me playing for Man City and I was 16 stone, full of muscle.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t run like Erling Haaland, but I half looked like him for a little while.
“It slowed me down, but it was good, it got me back and it got me believing in myself again.
“By the time April or May came around, I was trying to get back into the Man City team again, but they weren’t having it.
“They wouldn’t let me play a friendly for Ireland to prove myself, so in the end they said I could train with the World Cup team out there but I couldn’t play. They had that power.
“I missed out, but I look back on the Latvia game as the comeback game. And I had nearly nine years of a career afterwards.
“A lot happened at that time, but the Latvia game was a positive.
“I’m delighted Aldo got the goals, but it probably did more for me than for him.”
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PLAYING against John Aldridge is surely still the stuff of nightmares for Latvian defenders of a certain vintage.
The former Liverpool striker registered a very respectable 19 goals for Ireland during his time with the Boys in Green. And incredibly, almost half of them came against tonight’s friendly opponents.
Aldo faced the Baltic nation four times and scored eight goals against them - including a hat-trick in a 4-0 win in September 1992.
Ireland were drawn against Latvia in two successive campaigns. They faced off in the qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup and Euro ‘96.
Here are Aldridge’s stats against them…
# Sept 1992: Ireland 4-0 Latvia (Kevin Sheedy, ALDRIDGE 3)
# June 1993: Latvia 0-2 Ireland (ALDRIDGE, Paul McGrath)
# Sept 1994: Latvia 0-3 Ireland (ALDRIDGE 2, John Sheridan)
# Oct 1995: Ireland 2-1 Latvia (ALDRIDGE 2)
And here's who Aldridge scored against in a green jersey
8 goals v Latvia
3 v Turkey
2 v Malta
1 v Albania, Lithuania, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Tunisia
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