Past disappointments make successes all the better

For a fleeting ten minutes, Shamrock Rovers, the League of Ireland, the incredible Irish support, the travelling media all lived in a world where sporting dreams became reality.

Stephen Rice's 50th minute goal made the scoreboard in White Hart Lane read: Tottenham Hotspur 0 Shamrock Rovers 1....in a Europa League group stage fixture.

When Gary McCabe's free kick was parried back out of the penalty area by Carlo Cudicini every Rovers man, woman and child in the ground inhaled with a desperately hopeful gasp as we could see the ball drop into the flight-path of Pat Sullivan's boot. We all know the potential of Sully's right-footed goal bound efforts (cue memory of the sensational volley against Partizan Belgrade) and when Stephen Rice's deft intervention sent the ball into the Spurs goal - well, the place just went bananas.

British journalists were utterly bemused as their Irish scribing and broadcasting counterparts leapt in the air celebrating like we were players in the squad.

For many of the hard League of Ireland cases, you'd have to forgive them their moment. Covering the domestic league has had many painful days so when the rollercoaster takes you to a high, by God you just want to ride with it!

We were in row nine in the press box, so just a handful of steps separated us from the benches! Well, bench seems inappropriate a term - more like the cluster of heated, leather Recaro seats which warmed the bums of the management teams and the substitutes.

All I remember from the moment of impact (the effect was something like a meteorite smashing into the earth) was what I could see.

Irish journalists arms embracing each other and punching the air.....the noise.....the inexplicable noise of the Rovers faithful roaring all the hurt and pain of previous times out of their hearts, directly down in front of us was a still and shocked Spurs 'bench', Harry Redknapp with his head in his hands.

But just to the centre-right of my view was the polar opposite. The Rovers 'bench' were bouncing, falling forward, their hearts pulling them, like a magnet, towards the celebrations of the players in front of the home fans. That picture will never, ever leave.

Even sixteen minutes later, when the scoreboard read Tottenham 3 - Shamrock Rovers 1, it was still all I could see.

We had that moment and once you have one, you want more, and start to believe you can have more.

But the Rovers players were different. They believed it could and would happen long before kick-off.

Upon arrival at White Hart Lane on Wednesday, for the pre-match affair, the media were brought to a well-planned out press zone with individual working stations, plenty of refreshments and a separate auditorium where the press conferences took place.

When you walked into the entrance of the ground a white tunnel area greeted you with medical rooms and offices along the right. On the left was a collage of Spurs playing legends on the Hall of Fame wall. 

As Dan Murray said, "When I walked out of the dressing-room down the tunnel, all I could see was grass and it just got bigger and bigger...and then when you walk out onto the pitch, like this is what you play football for. Its Roy of the Rovers stuff." 

The players were impressed when they trained at White Hart Lane and some wondered if they might be daunted by it but as the hours of waiting passed ever so slowly in the team hotel on Thursday, the banter started to subdue and they became so focused.

Michael O'Neill and Jim Magilton spent some time fine-tuning the presentation for the team talk, the tactics, the set pieces and after the pre-match meal they boarded the coach for their journey to the promised land.

The most lack-lustre police escort in the world helped to alleviate the pensive atmosphere on-board before finally, with just one minute of the regulation time of being at the ground 90 minutes before kick-off, the Shamrock Rovers squad arrived at the ground. 

The entrance to White Hart Lane was lined with fans in hooped jerseys and even they probably didn't dare to possess the confidence that the boys on-board held deep within them.

We all saw the game, we all know how that story goes, but my favourite moment from London was when chatting to Rovers goal scorer Stephen Rice after the game who conceded it was great to score but that all he felt was disappointment at not getting something out of a game that they had led.

How things have changed; how the League of Ireland has grown up; how new dreams will form.

There is more to come from this Rovers squad and like them, others are starting to BELIEVE!!