Gartland so grateful to teammates for keeping dream alive
BRIAN Gartland said he owed his team-mates ‘everything’ after they kept his European dream alive with an historic victory over BATE Borisov in Tallaght on Tuesday night.
After breaking his wrist in the early stages of the Champions League second qualifying round first leg tie with FH Hafnarfjordur in Oriel Park last month, the big centre half missed both the trips to Iceland for the return leg and the subsequent game against BATE in Belarus.
Instead he has been working for eirSport as part of their coverage of Dundalk’s epic journey but neglected those duties late on last Tuesday when he went to celebrate a result that means he will get the chance to play in Europe again, with matches secured right up to December at the very least following last week’s victory.
Speaking to The Argus afterwards, Gartland said it was tough looking on from the sidelines but praised his team-mates for their win and giving him the chance to realise his own European dreams in the weeks ahead.
‘I owe them everything,’ he said.
‘As a footballer all I thought about growing up was playing at the top standard. Obviously in Ireland this is the highest it can get but when we kick on now and play in Europe and group stages of either the Europa League or hopefully the Champions League, it will be just amazing.
‘I owe everything to these boys. When I am fit though I have to try and get back in though because there’s no way I’m going straight back into that team.
‘It was one of the hardest days of my life, especially coming on the bus here it really sank in and I was nearly teary eyed not being involved but this is just one of the best feelings in my life now.
‘I said before to the boys good luck and don’t forget you can become heroes not just in the team or the town but footballing heroes in this country and they’ve done that. They’ve gone where no team has gone before.
‘We’re guaranteed the Europa League but why can’t we go on now and have a crack at the Champions League. It’s incredible. What they did tonight was just amazing. 3-0 against a Champions League team, I was taking a picture of the scoreboard a minute ago. It’s just unbelievable.’
Gartland insists his recovery is ‘going well’ with a scan in the coming weeks set to reveal his exact return to action.
In the meantime, the 29-yearold might have to reorganise his calendar slightly. While Dundalk’s extended run in Europe won’t affect his wedding to Pearse Park woman Bronagh O’Brien, it could put his plans for a stag in doubt.
‘It’s all right the wedding is the 27th of December and we finish around the 8th of December in the Europa League,’ he said with a grin on his face when asked about the matter.
‘I know there’s a Europa League game on the 23rd or 24th of November and the morning after is my stag in Hamburg so you never know it could be a Champions League game a few days before or you never know we might even be in Germany,’ he laughed.
While his stag may suffer, one thing is for sure - there’s plenty of partying in Europe for Dundalk FC to come.