DUNDALK ADVANCED to the second round of the Champions League qualifiers last night, but only after a nail-biting penalty shootout with Latvian side Riga.
The SSE Airtricity League Premier Division’s representatives in Europe’s elite club competition will meet Qarabag of Azerbaijan later in the month thanks to the victory.
Already a memorable evening for Lilywhites head coach Vinny Perth, who took over from Ireland U21 boss Stephen Kenny at the beginning of this season, it got even better after an unexpected call from one of his heroes.
As revealed by Dundalk chairman Mike Treacy, Jose Mourinho FaceTimed Perth to congratulate him on the result.
“Yeah, Jose just rang,” Perth told the SSE Airtricity League website.
I was a bit emotional as you heard at the start and then that added to it because he’s just a hero of mine.
“I know people question what he has done in the last couple of years but for me, he has always been a hero so for him to ring and congratulate me was a surreal moment.
“It was a weird moment but that on top of the pressure that the staff internally felt. We felt pressure tonight as a staff, not from the club but from ourselves. It was a real special moment.”
The Irish Independent report that Mourinho is friends with former Sky Sports reporter Andy Burton, who does work with Dundalk’s American owners Peak6.
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