After Conor Sammon deftly turned and rolled the ball for Robbie Keane to score his third goal against the Faroe Islands, he stopped and looked as the Republic of Ireland captain wheeled away in celebration. For a second, he was content to be a fan.
Watching and learning from Keane has been one of the incidental joys for Sammon over the past few weeks. Keane was already one of the biggest Irish names in football when Sammon made his League of Ireland debut eight seasons ago: since then he has made a steady ascent through the Scottish and English divisions to earn his place alongside the veteran striker.
“In the last few games, the goals he has scored shows that he is always in the right place at the right time,” Sammon said as he considered an eventful few weeks in his football life.
“He really comes alive in the box and makes it look easy. But when you play football you realise that it is not. To get yourself into those positions is not just luck or chance.
“For me, to get the chance to rub shoulders with a player like that and who has got so much experience is only going to benefit me in the long run.”
Tonight, the Derby County striker is hopeful of getting a chance to rub those same shoulders against one of the most sophisticated defences in the world game. His call into the Irish squad in January coincided with an interesting six months, including the prestige friendly in Wembley, the comfortable win over the Faroes and now this novel fixture against Spain in one of the great arenas of world sport.
Cancel holidays
He admits he had to cancel holidays he had arranged with Caroline, his fiancé – "she is a schoolteacher so her holidays came up about now" – but is anxious to play his way deeper into Trapattoni's thoughts as a first-choice starter.
His selection against Austria was regarded as one of the bolder choices the Italian has made in his time with Ireland and Sammon repaid the faith with a contribution to both goals. He added another important assist against the Faroes.
“I think I bring physical strength to the team; I can rustle defenders up and create space for other players. I also feel that I have pace that allows me to give teams problems in behind and stretch games as well. That creates space for other players.
“I’m very hungry to do well at this level and prove to myself that I can play at this level. I have always had confidence in my own ability so it’s nice to get a stage like this and show it.”
Sammon has thrived in the environment at Derby but tonight, mixing it with one of the greatest football teams ever assembled, is a new milestone.
“It’s incredible. The journey I have come on over the last five or six years has been incredible. I am delighted, the route I have come and the things I have experienced in the League of Ireland, and then going to Scotland, and obviously then playing for Wigan. It doesn’t get much better than playing an international game against the top, top team around, Spain who have two or three XIs they could put out and do very well.
“Obviously Xavi and Iniesta are two of the lads who always catch the eye, but there are 10, 15 players in that squad who are proper world-class players, so it will be brilliant to test ourselves against them and go out and show that we are very good players ourselves.”
