Dundalk captain Andy Boyle hailed his side's performance last night and urged his players to enjoy the moment, claiming that European nights like these are "few and far between".

Boyle filled the gap left by regular skipper Stephen O'Donnell who was missing through suspension and speaking after the game acknowledged the herculean effort of his side. 

"It's great, we always have belief in ourselves that we can always match these teams," he said. "I suppose if you put it into context it's a big win and it makes history for the League of Ireland.

"It's a brilliant three points and it puts us right in the mix in the group. 

"From the start we had that belief to be honest with you, the style of football we played we created a lot of chances. I thought we were unlucky for the score to be nil-all at half-time. But we knew if we kept plugging away we'd create a few more chances. Ciaran [Kilduff] got on the end of one and I thought we were real value for the three points."

Dundalk face into a minimum of five games before they play their next Europa League group game against Zenit at Tallaght Stadium. The Russian giants will face just one in that time. So while the match is an exceptional one for Dundalk, the team must now refocus their efforts for Derry City this Sunday morning.

"It's a nice night for us, but it's more about the result. It's nice to captain the side but it's about the team and these nights are few and far between, so it's a special night for the club.

"Most of our games are like that, we like to play a certain style of football. As I said, throughout the game we created chances and we were comfortable enough.

"They were going to always have spells, they're a good team. They've been in the group stages of the Europa League and the Champions League. We knew it was going to be tough, they've got some good players and some internationals. It's good to come away with those three points. They're massive for us and it builds on the point we got in Holland."