Stephen Kelly is desperate to help banish the memory of Republic of Ireland's play-off heartache against France by seeing off Estonia.
Ireland defender eager to get the better of Estonia
Stephen Kelly is desperate to help banish the memory of Republic of Ireland's play-off heartache against France by seeing off Estonia.
Ireland were cruelly denied a place at the 2010 World Cup finals after Thierry Henry's controversial handball helped set up William Gallas' game-deciding goal.
Although that infamous game was back in November 2009, Fulham full-back Kelly insists the scars from missing out on South Africa remain.
Kelly is now preparing to tackle Estonia in Friday's first leg away from home and he believes qualifying for Euro 2012 would put an end to their France anguish once and for all.
When asked how keen he is to banish the memory of their France play-off heartache, Kelly replied: "Desperate.
"Obviously, the freshest in the memory is still France and everybody has got that scar, that wound still there.
"It's something that if we qualify now, hopefully that will be papered over and that will be it, we can forget about it and it will be all done.
"It's fresh in our minds and we are all keen to not let something like that happen again."
Dream
Kelly grew up watching Ireland impress in the 1994 World Cup finals in the USA and the 28-year-old would dearly love the nation to shine once again on the international stage.
"Just to think back at that, it makes you smile and think about how close we are to possibly being at a stage like that again where we could really give the country a boost, which would be a fantastic thing to do," he continued.
"As a kid, you always supported Ireland. I always supported teams in the Premier League, but Ireland was the team you watched and you cared about the most.
"Growing up playing football, your dream is to play for Ireland and play in a major tournament.
"We are very close to it now and if it comes through, it will be a dream come true for me and I am sure everybody else in the team. It would be a special thing.
"I know the way all of us feel about playing for our country and playing for Ireland, so it be a fantastic achievement."
