NORTHERN Ireland’s fantastic victory over Spain 28 years ago will always be remembered as one of the greatest World Cup shocks in history.

It was on June 25, 1982, on a chokingly hot Friday night in Valencia, that Billy Bingham’s plucky team etched their name in the record books by beating the hosts 1-0 with 10 men.

Gerry Armstrong slayed the Spanish matadors with the winning strike early in the second-half – a goal which is now part of Irish football folklore.

And what ensued was the mother of all parties, not just in Valencia, but all across Northern Ireland, as the world was gripped by the most dramatic, tense and phenomenal of football matches.

Amazingly, Bingham’s men had booked their place into the second phase of the tournament, topping their four-team group with Spain, Yugoslavia and Honduras.

For former Burnley great Tommy Cassidy, one of the many Irish heroes in the intimidating Luis Casanova Stadium, that famous night remains fresh and vivid in his mind as ever before.

Yet strangely, his abiding memory was not of Armstrong’s legendary goal, the miraculous saves of Pat Jennings, or the long, noisy celebations that followed victory, but of the additional 90 minutes it took him and Armstrong to provide a post-match urine sample.

Midfielder Cassidy played his part as a second-half substitute when whisked away by FIFA officials at the final whistle, only to find going to the toilet more difficult than stopping Spain.

“One of the things I’ll never ever forget was immediately after the game finished, myself and Gerry Armstrong were taken away for a drugs test,” explained Cassidy.

“Obviously, we’d love to have gone straight into the dressing room to celebrate with the rest of the lads, but there wasn’t an issue with me and Gerry giving a urine sample.

“The only problem was that we were both so dehydrated that it took us an hour and a half to give a sample.

“We were sat under armed guards, next to FIFA doctors and officials, and it was just so funny that it took us so long. We simply couldn’t pee!

“We tried and tried, drinking water, lager and even wine to help us.

"Gerry drank so much alcohol that he was little bit drunk.

"He was singing ‘Danny Boy’ and all sorts. It was hilarious – even one of the guards began to sway to his singing. That will stick with me forever.

“All the other lads waited for us and it took us so long that we didn’t have time to change before getting on the coach to travel back to our hotel as quickly as possible.

"We just wanted to celebrate.”

Cassidy, who chalked up 98 Burnley appearances during three seasons at Turf Moor in the early 1980s, was one of two Clarets stars on the pitch, with striker Billy Hamilton also playing centre stage with the cross that led to Armstrong’s goal.

To a man, Northern Ireland were inspired as they defied a non-stop Spanish onslaught, and only 100 per cent effort was enough after Mal Donaghy’s sending off with 30 energy-sapping minutes left.

Cassidy said: “They were not like the Spanish teams of today that knock the ball around and play attractive football.

"They put themselves about.

“But the last 20 minutes were like the Alamo. It was wave after wave of attack and we’d be do anything to stop them scoring.

“I remember Sammy Nelson came on for the last 20 minutes. He’s a left back but was running all over the place.

“When we had a breather, I said to him: ‘What position are you supposed to be in?’ to which he replied ‘I haven’t got a f******* clue!’

“Pat Jennings - a great friend of mine - was unreal. It wasn’t just his saves.

"He came out for everything, corners and crosses, and scooped them up with one hand.

"That night, I thought to myself that he was the best goalkeeper in the world.

“At the final whistle, we didn’t initially celebrate. We just looked at each other for about 10 seconds in amazement.

"We couldn't believe what we’d done. We had beaten Spain in their backyard. It was unthinkable.”

Irish partying went long into the night and beyond after a truly incredible result that, even today, Cassidy admits is built into the psyche of Northern Irish football.

He added: “We knew people back home were celebrating. In 1982, we were in the midst of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, but for one day or so, religion was all forgotten about.

“It was a hell of a night in Valencia. I remember at about 6am the next morning, I walked out onto the balcony of my hotel room because I heard a clicking noise.

“As it happened, Malcolm Brodie, the famous Northern Ireland football reporter, was in the room next door writing up his match report on a typewriter.

“He said to me: ‘I’m just finishing off my piece and my final words are, ‘I was there’.

"He said it was the greatest match he’d ever been to.

“About 10 or 15 years later, I met up with him in Belfast.

"When we looked at each other, he pointed at me straight away and said again, ‘I was there!’

“It showed how much that game meant to him and to people in Northern Ireland.

"His words encapsulated it.”