Dundalk resolve to again prove Euro sceptics wrong

Those thinking that, sooner or later, Dundalk’s bubble would inevitably burst at this level were made to think again when Stephen Kenny’s remarkable team kicked off their Europa League campaign by overcoming a man and goal deficit to draw away from home with AZ Alkmaar, to become the first Irish club to take a point in group stages of European competition.

Tonight, as they return to Tallaght Stadium, the scene of their finest European hour this season — when they beat BATE Borisov 3-0 in a Champions League qualifier — it no longer seems remotely fanciful to imagine the Lilywhites claiming another historic first for Irish football, by beating Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League group stage.

Like Dundalk, Maccabi are top of their domestic league, having warmed up nicely for tonight’s game with a 5-0 win against Hapoel in the Tel Aviv derby last Sunday. Unlike the Irish champions, however, Maccabi can call on the experience of a number of internationals playing with Israel, Iceland, Serbia, and Bosnia while, in veteran playmaker Yossi Benayoun and no less seasoned defender Tal Ben Haim, they boast a couple of names familiar to the bulk of tonight’s crowd from their time in English football.