Some enchanted evening

QUALIFICATION for the group stages of the Europa League? One million euro. The emotional reward for the players, staff and supporters of Shamrock Rovers? Priceless.

And not just for folk whose blood runs green and white either — Thursday night was some enchanted evening for everyone associated with League of Ireland football. An 11th-hour deal meant that Setanta Ireland were able to screen live coverage of the game in Belgrade but for all those who couldn’t get to watch it on the box, the web was their link and lifeline to an evening which eventually resolved itself into the most glorious night in the history of Irish club football.

RTÉ were running a live blog on the game and the posts they inserted as the drama unfolded put a wonderfully human face on what it meant to so many people, as the League of Ireland diaspora, scattered around the globe, hung on every fresh update which flashed across their computer screens.