Dundalk drew 1-1 tonight with Icelandic champions Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar.
David McMillan put them 1-0 up after 66 minutes but it was an ex-Dundalk player Stephen Lennon that equalised for the Icelandic team with ten minutes remaining. Lennon, a Scot, signed for Dundalk from Rangers in 2010.
There were glum faces at the final whistle but Dundalk have the 2nd leg this day next week.
Before the game, Stephen Kenny made a stab for Damien Richardson's longstanding title as the most idiosyncratic programme notes composer in the game.
Referencing the Chilcot Report and Tony Blair early doors before abruptly abandoning that particularly topic, he veered into what amounted to a personal tribute to David Cameron for the outgoing PM's public apology to the people of Derry over Bloody Sunday while he was manager there.
In a week, when English football writers are beginning to link their players' chronic lack of curiosity and disengagement from the wider world with their underachievement on the pitch, it's good to see Irish football men revealing their hinterland.
So, @DundalkFC in @ChampionsLeague action tonight and Stephen Kenny makes a fine start in his programme notes. pic.twitter.com/wMzOkL4xmt
— David Sneyd (@DavidSneydIDM) July 13, 2016
@DundalkFC @ChampionsLeague Continued... pic.twitter.com/WDU1SvHua7
— David Sneyd (@DavidSneydIDM) July 13, 2016
