European Nights: I've never heard Windsor Park louder than when Shayne Lavery scored Linfield's third against Qarabag

August 22, 2019: Linfield 3 (Stafford (40), Lavery (45+1, 75)) – 2 Qarabag (Rherras (15), Gueye (90+2, pen))

As Shayne Lavery showed pure strength and determination to win the ball on the halfway line before running through on goal and cutting inside, there was a sense of inevitability about the outcome for an onlooking Chris Casement.

Casement, playing at right-back, had one of the best seats in the house as Lavery created a magical moment of individual brilliance that sent the Windsor Park faithful into raptures.

This was one of the great European performances from an Irish League side, keeping calm in the eye of the storm against a team that only two seasons prior had been taking on Chelsea, Atletico Madrid and Roma in the Champions League.

First-half headers from Mark Stafford and Lavery during a whirlwind five-minute period helped David Healy’s men claw their way back from an early deficit before the former Everton youngster proved what he was capable of by smashing home a remarkable solo strike.

"Shayne scored that unbelievable solo effort and when that went in it was the loudest I've ever heard Windsor Park,” recalled Casement. “I haven't heard it louder during a Northern Ireland game or anything.

"To be playing when that third goal went in felt surreal. We were under no illusions that it was going to be a testing game, but we had a good team.

"We had match winners in Shayne and Joel (Cooper) and Bastien (Hery) could produce a moment of magic. The first 30 minutes were extremely difficult.

"They scored pretty early and for us then it was all about staying in the game as long as possible because we really were hanging on. They were passing it around and it was a shock to us.

"We stayed in the game extremely well. We took a few punches and were on the ropes but stayed in the game. Mark Stafford scored from a set-piece and then Shayne scored from another set-piece and you could see then that they were really rocking and hurt big style - they didn't know what had hit them."

It’s testament to the quality of Lavery’s masterpiece that Casement, who has played over 400 senior games (a number that will continue to go up after moving to Leiston this summer) during his career, ranks it as one of the best goals he has ever been on the pitch for – and it came from a player he knew would thrive at Linfield from the very first training session.

"It's right up there,” he added. “Even from where he started with the initial strength, then the pace to get away and then he cuts in on his left foot.

"He was on such a high level that when he cut in you just knew the ball was going in. I fancied him all day. When it hits the back of the net and you hear the noise, you just think 'wow'.

"Shayne came in during pre-season and was on trial with us and a few other clubs were sniffing around and from the first session you could tell. We all really hoped he signed.

"You could see the pace, power, sharpness, finishing - you could see it all straight away and he was a level above the Irish League. The more he played and more confident he got, the more goals he scored.

"He's a great kid on top of that which makes it even better. He wanted to learn, worked hard, got himself really fit, listened to the manager and senior pros, he was great.

"I still speak to him today and follow him very closely. You knew that he was going to offer a lot and he had so much quality."

European nights were always special for Casement. His first taste came with Linfield in 2011 against BATE Borisov and he went on to play 18 times across competitions, including four in Europa League qualifying at Portadown.

It was that evening in late-August 2019 at Windsor that has provided perhaps the most memorable moment of them all though, and Casement feels the team spirit created off the pitch helped them achieve great things on it.

In the end, there would be heartbreak as Linfield were knocked out on away goals after a 3-2 defeat the following week in front of over 18,000 supporters, but that doesn’t take the shine off what was a mammoth effort that started with victories over HB Tórshavn and FK Sutjeska Nikšić.

"Without a shadow of a doubt it (the home leg) was (one of the best nights of my career),” said Casement. “We had an unbelievable squad.

"Sometimes when people look at Linfield they just say 'they have the best players, the best ground, most money' but when you look at that group of players I still speak to all of them nearly. We worked hard for each other.

"It was (heartbreaking in the end) but that's football for you. Football doesn't owe you anything and I've been in plenty of situations where it hits you a boot between the legs and I've been on the other side where maybe we didn't deserve anything but came away with a win.

"It was really unfortunate. There wasn't much between the two teams over there, maybe a bit of tiredness and they had more of the ball so maybe created a few more opportunities.

"We held in there, suffered and were still in the game the whole way to the final whistle. You can be proud of the effort and I know David and the staff certainly were.

"After the initial sadness of not achieving Europa League qualification, you can put things into perspective and realise it was an unbelievable effort."