The first semi-final of Off The Ball's series of the 'Greatest Aviva Moments' saw a comeback win for the penalty heroics of Sligo Rovers' Ciarán Kelly.
Having seen off the efforts of Leo Messi, no less, in earlier rounds, the magic hands of Ciarán Kelly did what Manuel Neuer couldn't and stopped Shane Long.
In the early stages of the semi-final, conducted on Wednesday, there was lots of love for Long's momentous Aviva goal. But news of the poll clearly spread to Yeats' county and there was a spirited and successful fightback over the course of the afternoon.
It's a comeback win for the incredible penalty tekkers of Ciaran Kelly of @sligorovers in the first semi-final for the 'Greatest Aviva Moments'@AVIVAIRELAND
#SafeToDream https://t.co/5RDDdHcB6g— Off The Ball (@offtheball) May 20, 2020
The Bit o' Red's victory over Shamrock Rovers - to wit, goalkeeper Kelly's four saves in the penalty shoot-out - got the better of Long's super strike against Germany.
On that day in 2010, it was Kelly's goalkeeping heroics that secured the cup for Sligo Rovers and ensured their spot in the grand final of Off The Ball's football 'Greatest Aviva Moments'.
Greatest Aviva Moments
There will be another poll on Thursday, where the second semi-final will be fought between Seani Maguire's late strike against Dundalk in 2016 and John Walters' goals against Bosnia.
As to how the competition works, we'll leave it up to arch-competitor Nathan Murphy to explain.
"We leave it up to the general public is how we whittle this down, I've got together an eight-moment shortlist - and there have been quite a number of memorable moments at the AVIVA Stadium over the last decade.
"We're going to have a couple of polls, before we crown the greatest AVIVA Stadium football moment on Friday!"
Aviva Ireland has been a proud sponsor of the Aviva Stadium for 10 years. Since 2010, over 7.2 million fans from around the world have attended matches at the Aviva Stadium. We’re encouraging fans to tell us your favourite moments from the iconic venue by following Aviva Ireland on Instagram and Twitter and sharing them using #SafeToDream
