A night when two different worlds collided

IT WASN’T long before the cold, bracing slap of reality intruded on Shamrock Rovers’ fairytale night in Tallaght.

Two minutes, 54 seconds to be exact. Real Madrid this wasn’t.

Little over a year has passed since the Spanish giants pitched up in south Dublin after a few days in the plush surrounds of Carton House. It took Karim Benzema all of 87 minutes to find the goal that spared galactico blushes that night.