Postcard from Russia - Dundalk superb but fall just short in St. Petersburg

Caoimhin Reilly reports from Russia

It is 21:53 local time. I’m sitting in my hotel room looking out at the snow on the ground, it’s -3 degrees which is scientifically proven to turn a liquid to a solid state, except in this case.

For Dundalk FC don’t do science, well this team doesn’t anyway (if Graham Byrne is reading this I’m not about to have a go at you.)

I’m sitting shivering but my heart is still melting despite the Lilywhites having lost to Zenit St. Petersburg by two goals to one at the Petrovsky Stadium last night. Proud does not do the feeling justice.

All of us sitting in the Wild Duck pub until 5am this morning felt the same way. “How in the name of God are we doing this? It just proves at the end of the day that it’s just 11 players against 11 players.” Amen.

There were never truer words spoken.

Another anti-science observation is that Zenit play with an annual budget of €165 million, 165 times and more that of Dundalk’s, yet the Lilywhites lost both ties against the Russian giants 2-1 and hit the goal frame three times across the two encounters – forgive me for questioning the logic behind science.

For last night, the approximately 100 travelling Dundalk fans saw their little town team, give the club occupying the second biggest city in Russia, as hard a European test as they are likely to get this season.

I mean a nearby journalist nearly drowned in his half-time cup of tea when told that the team he was watching give his beloved Zenit more than a run for their money would be claiming the dole before the end of the year – it’s ludicrous – I mean Ronan Finn looked at least on a par with Giuliano for the majority of the match. Daryl Horgan I’m convinced is better than Russian international Oleg Shatov.

The cynics will say that ‘you get nothing for coming close’ and congratulate the Lilywhites on getting the widely acceptable ‘hard luck story’. Dundalk’s players are born winners though, and such moral victories are without substance to them.

Another thing that science cannot answer is how Dundalk, the lowest ranked team in European competition with a coefficient of just over three points and ranked 359^th in Europe, can match pound-for-pound the team that UEFA rank 16^th.

No periodic table is going to be able to tell you that I’m afraid. Absolutely not.

For this team, methodically assembled by Stephen Kenny, are the exception to every unenumerated rule that says what a team can and can’t do.

The problem child has produced a team which, to use the words of Kenny, “is creating waves across Europe.”

We may have gotten slim pickings to eat in Russia but we certainly were as full as bingo buses watching Dundalk last night. You could dine on that for the rest of your life.

The commitment. The effort. The desire. The skill. Amazing.

Gary Rogers was inspiring. For a man who has endured such a tough few weeks, he put in a performance worthy of the occasion. His 36^th minute save from Giuliano was the most breath-taking save I have seen this season.

All his body weight gravitated him to his left as the Brazilian jinked the other way. It was just a matter of sliding in the opener, that was until Rogers came from nowhere and made the stunning stop.

You have to be delighted for Rogers, he was having such a wonderful season up until September, he was a shoe-in for ‘keeper of the year until that point.

Andy Boyle, in probably his proudest week in football, was monumental. He was so focused on his task that he would likely have thrown himself in the way of a cannon-ball heading towards goal. He blocked, headed and cleared everything at will.

In September 2011, the Republic of Ireland team achieved a 0-0 draw with Russia in Moscow. That game is remembered for the heroics performed by Shay Given and Richard Dunne.

Five years later and 635km up the road, Rogers and Boyle put in identical defensive performances, although this time lady luck wasn’t on the side of the Irishmen in Russia.

Daryl Horgan’s goal, Ronan Finn’s control, Stephen O’Donnell’s organisation, Dane Massey’s aggression were all highlights. You could not fault anyone of the Dundalk players on the night.

How could the finger be pointed at Brian Gartland, it’s his first mistake in three-and-a-half years at the club and to be fair Zenit still had a lot to do to score after turning the ball over.

It’s like a parent with a misbehaving child, they will never love them any less.

All the players went down heroes on the night and it would be unfair to speak of Rogers and Boyle alone, but they were truly immense.

Had Patrick McEleney’s dipping shot nestled in the net or rebounded off the goal kindlier to Ciaran Kilduff, who was ready to pounce, we could be celebrating a share of the spoils. The margins are so slim in Europe no matter how superior one team is supposed to be over the other.

Had that goal went in, I’d say Ciaran Callan and myself wouldn’t be welcomed back into St. Petersburg anytime soon. I can only dream about what would have happened.

Now as I finish off my rambling, I think of the memories that we’ll take away from St. Petersburg.

The picturesque sights, the craic, the pub named after a free-range duck, being caught the wrong side of the rising bridges, the snow….

It was all worthwhile, however, the biggest thing that I will take away from north Russia is the fact that I have had the pleasure of witnessing the greatest team to come out of Ireland on their continental odyssey.

They may not do science, but they do know a thing or two about chemistry. What a team.