What a performance!
It’s hard to know where this would have stood in the pantheon of great Irish footballing performances but there are many who would say it would have been in the top one.
As dusk settled in Tallaght, Dundalk heaved against the mighty Russians and the millions upon millions that back their journey.
Stephen Kenny was home and Tallaght was proud. Staked against the might of Zenit St Petersburg, Dundalk held firm in a dicey first half.
If anyone expected them to emerge for the second half as timid hosts, they were wrong. Dundalk pressed and were rewarded.
A ball broke from the edge of the box and former UCD player Robbie Benson pounced.
Low. True. 1-0.
WATCH!!
Robbie Benson’s long-range strike sends @DundalkFC 1-0 ahead vs Zenit! #LOIinEurope https://t.co/Z8cl7ERL5k— eir Sport (@eirSport) October 20, 2016
What scenes. What joy.
A community at one. A nation absorbed in the tryst twist humble good and Gazprom’s bottomless cash-pit.
The unfortunate thing about bottomless cash pits is that they inevitably come out on top in the end.
And so it proved in Dundalk as Zenit turned the screw and secured a 2-1 victory.
Goals from Róbert Mak and Giuliano de Paula secured the win for the Russians and you could see in their faces how much it meant to them and how hard fought it was.
Dundalk keeper Gabriel Sava saved a late penalty for the home side and it was just as well – 3-1 would have been unfair, unjust. It would not have been a fair reflection of their performance.
This was no underdog story from Dundalk, merely a strong team going toe-to-toe with a peer and falling just short.
Dundalk have nothing to fear from the rest of the group or anything that lies behind.
This is a team the whole country can be proud of.
