'Nobody gave us a chance': Linfield legends reflect on 'incredible story' as historic Setanta Cup triumph approaches 20th anniversary

An all-Ireland competition formed to pit the best of the League of Ireland against the Irish League’s top teams, David Jeffrey’s Linfield reigned supreme by beating Shelbourne 2-0 in a showpiece decider at Tolka Park thanks to goals from Glenn Ferguson and Peter Thompson.

Having topped a group including Longford Town and ‘Big Two’ rivals Glentoran, Jeffrey’s men upset the odds to seal a magical victory over a Shels side that contained the likes of Wes Hoolahan, who would go on to play in the Premier League for Norwich City and racked up 43 caps for the Republic of Ireland.

The Setanta Cup ultimately only lasted nine years with Linfield one of just two Irish League champions – Crusaders the other after beating Derry City on penalties at The Oval in 2012.

That triumphant evening in Dublin set the platform for significant future success with Linfield going on to win three consecutive Premiership and Irish Cup doubles as the star-studded squad cemented their status as one of the greatest.

Ferguson, who scored nearly 300 goals for the Blues and picked up 21 trophies, can still vividly recall the famous triumph.

"I still remember it like yesterday,” he told NIFL’s Box to Box podcast earlier this year. “Nobody gave us a chance.

"The Shelbourne team were full of internationals, Wes Hoolahan went on to play for Norwich in the Premier League and he was getting the ball off their keeper on the edge of their box and carrying it to our box.

"We defended really well...they’d really good players but we worked really hard, got the goal which gave us something to hold on to and then we got the second goal.

"It was ironic because we’d a massive support down and being the football man he is, I ran to the crowd and the first face I could see was Joe McAree – of all the Linfield fans, he stood out!

"After the game we went back to the hotel in Malahide and Joe was the first one in the bar! Myself and Davy Larmour, let’s just say we had a good night.

"It was right on the marina and at about 6am the next morning there was a report to the police that they thought two men were lying dead...we were awoken by two policemen kicking Davy and I in our Linfield tracksuits – we were lying sleeping on the side of the road!”

The ecstasy of Setanta Cup glory was made even sweeter having recovered from the crushing blow of losing out on the Premiership to rivals Glentoran on ‘Morgan Day’, which remains one of the most famous moments in recent Irish League history.

"I remember on the way down to it nobody gave us a prayer,” reflected midfielder Paul McAreavey. “I think looking at the bookies we were something like 8/1 and we thought we’d nothing to lose.

"It was Morgan Day before that and we’d basically lost the league on the last kick of the ball to Glentoran – most teams would have been down, out and devastated, but that shows the character and willpower we had to come back from that.

"Morgan Day will still go down as the biggest disappointment in my career, it was horrendous, but it really gave us the strength to kick on. We went to the next level after it. It was an incredible story.”

When the famous Linfield group reconvene – just like they did earlier this season as Jeffrey and his players were applauded at Windsor Park to mark the 20th anniversary – Darren Murphy, who ultimately played his final game for the Blues that night, admits conversation often leads back to the crowning moment.

“Any time we get together, inevitably the chat goes back to that Setanta Cup win, even so many years on,” Murphy told the News Letter in 2020. “It was a group full of great characters and lads, without ego and everyone fitting in together.

“There is a reason why so many people from the squad look back and consider it a standout career moment.

“When you weigh up everything it really was so special - to go down and beat a side of Shelbourne’s quality in their own backyard and become the first winners of the Setanta Cup.

“No-one outside the club gave us a chance, Shelbourne were full-time and tipped by many as pre-tournament favourites.

“But we came into the competition with such a strong sense of self-belief, that squad had everything.

“We could mix it up and play in whatever way the situation required - we could go head-to-head physically or just out-play teams.

“David Jeffrey was brilliant at man-management and knew exactly what each individual needed in terms of motivation, plus we had a great backroom team who played a huge part in our progress.

“Those 90 minutes at Tolka Park go down as my most memorable game in a Linfield shirt.

“A few weeks after the final, I was told by the boss that was the end for me at Linfield.

“Although I didn’t know it at the time, the Setanta Cup final was my last game as a Linfield player.

“It was a footballing decision and I look back and just consider my time at Linfield and under David as an honour and a privilege."