Derby County: Rams skipper Chris Baird celebrates as Northern Ireland clinch

“A whole generation of fans have waited a long time to follow their team in a major championship and now Michael O’Neill and his heroes have delivered it for us”.

At Windsor Park there was a strong Fermanagh representation willing their boys on to victory including Enniskillen man Gary Donalson, pictured below.

Ireland sealed one of their greatest ever results by beating world champions Germany 1-0 thanks to a superb angled shot from Shane Long after 70 minutes to keep their qualifying hopes alive in Group D.

Newcastle’s Rob Elliot has been called up by the Republic of Ireland for their final Euro 2016 qualifier against Poland.

“What a wonderful night”, he said There was a great atmosphere I have to say, it way just something else.

He continued: “We’ve the best defensive record in the group and it’s not just come from defenders – it’s goalkeepers, the midfield unit”.

If they pick up a point against the Polish things could get tricky especially if the Irish slip up in both games. “When I scored out in Germany for the 100th cap, that night was very special, but this tops it when you beat Germany at home”. “I thought we were exceptionally fearless in the second half…to get on the ball in tight situations and not panic”, he added.

“So you have got to take that into consideration, but when we do have possession we will have to play with it and be courageous”. The team has had to dig deep during the campaign, no more so than when scoring a vital, last-gasp equaliser against Hungary last month. “I also want to congratulate the other team of the other O’Neill up in Northern Ireland because they’ve qualified now which is brilliant”, he said.

Finishing third in the group could put Germany in the unthinkable position of needing to win a two-legged play-off to reach Euro 2016.

“I was overwhelmed nearly because his first couple of years in the job were nearly disastrous”, said Des.