Damien Duff says he cried ‘a good few times’ ahead of Shelbourne’s return to Europe on Thursday night. The Reds bridged an 18-year gap when they beat St Joseph’s of Gibraltar 2-1 at Tolka Park, and the build-up to the game, Duff said, was packed with moments of high emotion. None more so than a pre-match viewing of a spine-tingling video produced by the Shelbourne social media team, which featured clips of past European nights and the legendary late owner Ollie Byrne.
READ MORE: Shelbourne 2-1 St Joseph's - Shels win on their European return READ MORE: Pictures - First stop for new Ireland manager as he takes in Shelbourne's European return Duff admitted that he turned the lights off when that video was played. “I cried a good few times today, the video you probably saw on Shels’ socials, I thought it was really powerful,” he said. “I didn’t want to show the guys a video, I actually haven’t done one last season, the last time was a similar time last year.
“I just asked Daz (Darren Cleary, media officer) to send it to me, I added in a few bits of my own just to jazz it up and we did it downstairs in a huddle. “It was a beautiful moment, it was powerful. So, yeah, a brilliant night.
” Asked if there were strange looks from his players when the waterworks started, he replied: “I always turn the lights off! Lesson one. They didn’t see anything.” Duff was also blown away by the giant pre-match fan display, which referenced the club’s glorious past.
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