There were thrills, spills, chaos, and delight at Tolka Park last night on what may go down as one of the great nights in Irish football.
Linfield will look on that through a different lens, having lost Matthew Fitzpatrick to a red card after only 18 minutes, having two penalties awarded against them and missing one themselves.
Shelbourne dominated possession after the red card, but a missed penalty and no score heading towards half time had the boisterous crowd in the riverbank stand a little more anxious than they had hoped.
A second penalty converted by the sublimely talented Harry Wood steadied the ship, and when half-time substitute Evan Caffrey burst forward to supply Mipo Odubeko right after the break, the place was bouncing.
A goal, but then a missed penalty from Kieran Offord continued the emotional roller coaster before Caffrey scored a late goal after Wood hit the post to send Shelbourne to Belfast next Thursday with a two-goal advantage.
The crowd never stopped, and the Linfield fans in the far corner gave as good as they got throughout. The sectarian edge to the songs and the chants on both sides is less menacing than it would have been 25 years ago, and added to the edge that made for a visceral and memorable night.
Meanwhile, down in the mid-Atlantic, Shamrock rovers also produced a superb result coming from behind to beat Santa Clara 2-1 in their away leg.
Both sides are still only at half-time, but both would have happily taken the first leg results if offered.
They now stand on the brink of a double qualification for the UEFA Conference League, an achievement for the League of Ireland that could only have been dreamt of until recent times.
Image Credit Ryan Bynre, Inpho.ie
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