Andy Reid names his fondest football memory as a fan – when he was just five

ANDY REID names his first football memory as his fondest — when Ray Houghton put the ball in the English net.

The former Ireland star was just five at the time but still vividly remembers Houghton heading past Peter Shilton to give Ireland a famous win in Stuttgart.

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He said: “It has to be Euro 88 and Ray Houghton scoring against England.

“It’s the first tournament I remember watching and it was a massive moment for the country.”

Reid will be in The Camden in Dublin on Tuesday September 3 for The Irish Sun’s first ever Goals Live event to talk Ireland versus England.

He will be joined by Green Army legend Tony Cascarino and former England ace Stuart Pearce as they remember previous clashes and look ahead to next month’s Nations League showdown.

Reid never faced England with Ireland, but created many memories of his own.

Ten years on from Euro 88, he was part of the Under-16 side under Brian Kerr that won the European Championships.

It was a glorious summer for Ireland as the Boys in Green became the first country ever to simultaneously hold the European Under-16 and Under-18 titles — now called Under-17 and Under-19.

That era produced many great future Ireland internationals.

Reid’s team-mates in the 16s included John O’Shea, Liam Miller, Jonathan Douglas, Graham Barrett, Joe Murphy, Jim Goodwin and John Thompson.

The 18s that year included Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne, Gary Doherty, Stephen McPhail, Alan Quinn and Barry Quinn.

Damien Duff was a few months too old.

And Reid names Kerr, and his Nottingham Forest mentor Paul Hart, as the two best managers he ever worked under.

It was Kerr who gave Reid his opportunity at underage level, and then his senior debut against Canada in November 2003 as he went on to win 29 caps and score four goals.

His first competitive strike is also his favourite.

Reid recalled: “Against Cyprus. It was my first competitive match for Ireland and it was a World Cup qualifier at the old Lansdowne Road. It wasn’t a bad goal!”

It was a belter from 25 yards with his left foot into the old Havelock Square End, after he had spun past his marker.

The Dubliner’s first international goal also came from long range, when his 35-yard free-kick missed everyone in the box and bounced passed Bulgaria’s keeper.

Reid could — and should — have won more caps but fell out of favour under Giovanni Trapattoni as he was ignored for five years before his final cap in 2013.

And he looks at his spell under Kerr as his happiest in a green shirt.

He previously said: “Brian Kerr and Noel O’Reilly were fantastic at creating that relaxed atmosphere and giving us the licence to express ourselves more than probably at a lot of our clubs.”

But, at Forest, he found a similar boss in Hart, when the former Leeds hardman was appointed academy coach before eventually going on to manage the first team.

Reid said: “The first time I saw Paul he looked scary but he had a real impact on shaping me as a footballer and a person.

“He’s one of the best developers of young players I’ve seen.

“There’s things I do today that I picked up from him.

“His attention to detail was complemented with a really good way of getting things across to you simply.

“You were always really clear about what was expected of you, both on the training ground and the football pitch.”