Dane Massey daring to dream of the big leagues

The talk has been all about Dundalk on the brink of making history but, actually, full-back Dane Massey has been in precisely this place before: that is to say, at Lansdowne Road for the first of two games which might have propelled Irish football into the group stages of the Champions League.

The occasion was the Shelbourne-Deportivo qualifier in August 2004 and Massey, then 16 years of age, was in the crowd.

“It was a massive, massive game for Shels at the time,” he says. “I was a teenager, I went with my father and what a game, what an atmosphere. I was playing for Cherry Orchard at the time. Our goalkeeping coach Steve Williams was in goal for Shels and we often ask him about the night and his experiences of the Champions League. It was a great night for Irish football, it’s one that everyone remembers and hopefully tonight will be another one.”